UNIVERSITY  OF 

ILLINOIS  LiBRARY 

AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 

BOOKSTACKS 


LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 


■v» 


<Teorge   Stepli.enson. 


THE    LIFE 


OP 


GEORGE    STEPHENSON, 


RAILWAY    ENGINEER. 


BT 

SAINIUEL     SMILES 


FROM  THE  FOURTH  lONDOX  EDinOV. 


COLUMBUS,    OniO: 

FOLLETT,    FOSTER    AND    COMPANY. 
1859. 


'Ul^      REMOTE  STORAGE 


PREFACE. 


TuE  Invention  of  the  Locomotive  Engine  and  its  application  to  the 
working  of  Railways,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  events  of  the  present 
century. 

Within  a  period  of  about  thirty  years,  railways  have  been  adopted  as  the 
chief  means  of  internal  communication  in  all  civilized  countries. 

The  expenditure  involved  in  their  construction  has  been  of  an  extraor- 
dinary character.  In  Great  Britain  alone,  at  the  end  of  the  year  185C,  not 
less  than  308,775, 894Z.  had  been  raised  and  expended  in  the  construction 
of  S,G35  miles  of  railway,  which  were  then  open  for  public  traffic. 

This  great  work  has  been  accomplished  under  the  eyes  of  the  generation 
still  living  ;  and  the  vast  funds  reqiiired  for  the  purpose  have  been  volun- 
tarily raised  by  private  individuals,  without  the  aid  of  a  penny  from  the 
public  purse. 

The  system  of  British  Railways,  whether  considered  in  point  of  utility 
or  in  respect  of  the  gigantic  character  and  extent  of  the  works  involved  in 
their  construction,  must  be  regarded  as  the  most  magnilicent  public  enter- 
prise yet  accomplished  in  this  countiy  —  far  surpassing  all  that  has  been 
achieved  by  any  government,  or  by  the  combined  etlbrts  of  society,  in  any 
former  age. 

But  railways  have  proved  of  equal  importance  to  other  countries,  and 
been  adopted  by  them  to  a  large  extent.  In  the  United  States,  there  are 
at  present  not  less  than  2G,000  miles  in  active  operation ;  and  when  the 
Grand  Trunk  system  of  Canada  has  been  completed,  that  fine  colony  will 
possess  railroad  communications  1500  miles  in  extent. 

Railways  have  also  been  extensively  adopted  throughout  Europe — above 
10,000  miles  being  already  at  work  in  the  western  continental  countries, 
whilst  large  projects  arc  in  contemplation  for  Russia,  Austria,  and  Turkey. 

(V) 


4^i;v>f-0 


VI  PREFACE. 

Railways  for  India  and  Australia  are  the  themes  of  daily  comment ;  and 
before  many  years  have  elajjscd,  London  will  probably  be  connected  by  an 
ii-OQ  band  of  railroads  with  Calcutta,  the  capital  of  our  Eastern  Empire. 

Their  important  uses  need  not  here  be  discussed.  As  constituting  a  great 
means  of  social  ioter-communication,  they  are  felt  to  enter  into  almost  all 
the  relations  between  man  and  man.  Trade,  manufactures,  agriculture, 
postal  communication,  have  alike  been  beneficially  influenced  by  this  extra- 
ordinary invention. 

The  foUovnng  facts  as  respects  railway  communication  in  Great  Britain, 
must  be  regarded  as  eminently  significant :  The  number  of  passengers  con- 
veyed by  railway,  in  1856,  amounted  to  not  less  than  129,317,592  ;  and  of 
these,  more  than  one  half  traveled  by  third-class  trains,  at  an  average  cost 
of  eight-tenths  of  a  penny  per  mile,  the  average  fare  for  all  classes  of  pas- 
sengers not  exceeding  one  penny  farthing  per  mile.  The  safety  with  which 
this  immense  traffic  was  conducted  is  not  the  least  remarkable  feature  of 
the  system  ;  for  it  appears,  from  Captain  Galtou's  report  to  the  Board  of 
Trade,  that  the  proportion  of  accidents  to  passengers,  from  causes  beyond 
their  own  control,  was  only  one  person  killed  to  10,168,449  conveyed.* 
Those  who  desire  statistical  evidence  as  to  the  extent  to  which  this  new 
means  of  communication  is  employed  for  the  conveyance  of  manufactures, 
minerals,  and  agricultural  produce,  will  find  abundant  proofs  in  the  same 
report. 

In  Canada  and  the  United  States,  the  railroad  is  of  greater  value  even 
than  in  England  ;  it  is  there  regarded  as  the  pioneer  of  colonization,  and  as 
instrumental  in  opening  up  new  and  fertile  teri'itories  of  vast  extent  —  the 
food-grounds  of  future  nations. 

What  may  be  the  eventual  results  of  the  general  adoption  of  railways  in 
the  civilized  countries  of  Europe,  remains  to  be  seen  ;  but  it  is  probable 
that,  by  abridging  distance,  bringing  nations  into  closer  communication, 
and  enabling  them  more  freely  to  exchange  the  products  of  their  industry, 
they  may  tend  to  abate  national  antipathies  and  bind  together  more  closely 
the  great  families  of  mankind. 

Disastrous  though  railway  enterprises  and  speculations  have  proved  to 
many  .concerned  in  them,  and  mixed  up  though  they  have  been  with  much 
fraud  and  folly,  the  debt  which  the  public  at  large  owe  to  railways  cannot 
be  disputed  ;  and  after  all  temporary  faults  and  blots  have  been  admitted 
and  disposed  of,  they  must,  nevertheless,  be  recognized  as  the  most  mag- 
nificent system  of  public  inter-communication  that  has  yet  been  given  to 
the  world. 

•  Captain  Galton'a  Report  to  the  Committee  of  Council  for  Trade,  etc.,  2l3t  July,  1857 


i 

PREFACE.  Vii 

What  manner  of  men  were  they  by  whom  this  groat  work  was  accom- 
plished ?  How  did  the  conception  first  dawn  upon  their  minds  ?  By  what 
means  did  railways  grow  and  quicken  into  such  vigorous  life?  By  what 
moral  and  material  agencies  did  the  inventors  and  founders  of  the  system 
work  out  the  ideas  whose  results  have  been  so  prodigious  ? 

These  questions  the  Author  has  endeavored  to  answer  in  the  following 
Biography  of  George  Stephenson,  to  whose  labors  the  world  is  mainly  in- 
debted for  the  locomotive  railway  system.  Indeed,  he  has  been  so  closely 
identified  with  its  origin,  progi'ess,  and  eventual  establishment  on  a  sound 
practical  basis,  that  his  life  may  be  said  to  include  the  history  of  Railway 
Locomotioa  almost  down  to  the  present  time. 

Independently,  however,  of  these  considerations,  the  life  of  George  Ste- 
phenson will  be  found  to  furnish  subject  of  interest  as  well  as  instruction. 
Strongly  self-reliant,  diligent  in  self-cultm-e,  and  of  indomitable  persever- 
auce,  the  characters  of  such  men  —  happily  numerous  in  England  —  are 
almost  equivalent  to  institutions.  And  if  the  Author  have  succeeded  in 
delineating,  however  imperfectly,  the  life  and  character  of  George  Stephen- 
son, the  perusal  of  this  book  may  not  be  without  some  salutary  influence. 

The  Author's  acknowledgments  are  due  to  the  following  gentlemen, 
amongst  others,  for  much  valuable  information  as  to  the  successive  im- 
provements effected  by  Mr.  Stephenson  in  the  locomotive  engine,  and  also 
with  reference  to  the  various  railways,  at  home  and  abroad,  with  which  he 
was  professionally  connected  :  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson,  M.P. ;  Mr.  Edwai'd 
Pease,  of  Darlington ;  Mr.  John  Dixon,  C.E. ;  Mr.  John  Bourne,  C.E. ; 
Mr.  Thomas  Sopwith,  C.E. ;  Sir  Joshua  "Walmsley  ;  Mr.  Jonathan  Foster, 
of  Wylam  ;  Mr.  Charles  Parker  ;  Mr.  William  Kell,  and  Mr.  Clephan,  of 
Gateshead. 

Many  interesting  facts,  relating  to  Mr.  Stephenson's  early  career,  have 
been  obtained  from  William  Coe  and  other  humble  persons,  who  were  only 
too  proud  to  have  the  opportunity  of  communicating  what  they  remembered 
of  their  distinguished  fellow-workman. 

The  Author  is  also  under  obligations  to  Mr.  F.  Swauwick,  C.E. ;  Mr.  C. 
Binns,  of  Clay  Cross,  and  Mr.  Vaughan,  of  Snibston,  for  various  particu- 
lars, introduced  in  the  present  edition,  illustrative  of  Mr.  Stejihenson's 
private  life  and  habits  while  residing  at  Liverpool,  Alton  Grange,  and 
Tapton  House,  and  which  supply  an  admitted  defect  in  the  earlier  edition.^ 
of  this  biography. 

8,  Glenmohr  Terrace,  ) 

IljUe  Yale,  Blackheath.  / 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAQE 

The  Village  of  Wylam — Birthplace  Of  George  Stephenson — Hia  Parentage — Race — 
The  Stephenson  Family — Wylam  Wagon-way — Dewley-Bum 1 


CHAPTER  n. 

Is  employed  as  a  Ucrd-hoy — Models  Clay  Engines — Labors  a-fleld — Drives  the  Qin- 
IlOrse  at  the  Colliery — Bird-nesting — Is  made  Assistant  Fireman — Jolly's  Close — 
Athletic  Feats — Is  appointed  Engineman — Study  of  the  Steam-engine 7 


CHAPTER  HI. 

Newburn — Experiments  in  Artificial  Bird-hatching — Puts  himself  to  School  and 
learns  to  Read  and  Write — Learns  Arithmetic — Love  of  tame  Birds  and  Ammals — 
His  Dog  Blessenger — Learns  Engine-brakeing 15 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Brakesman  at  Black  Callerton — Duties  of  the  Brakesman — Wages — Ekes  out  his 
Earnings  by  Shoe-mending — Falls  in  Love — Saves  his  First  Guinea — Sobriety — 
Quarrel  and  Fight  with  Ned  Nelson 22 

CHAPTER  V. 

Removal  to  WiUington — Marriage — Attempts  to  invent  Perpetual  Motion — Makes 
Shoes  and  Shoe  Lasts — Clock-cleaning — Birth  of  his  Son — Removal  to  Killing- 
worth  28 

(ix) 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

PAQS 
Killingworth  Colliery — Death  of  his  Wife  —  Journey  into  Scotland  —  Appointed 
Brakesman  at  Killing^vorth — Intends  emigrating  to  the  United  States — Takes  a 
Contract  for  Engine-brakeing — Makes  Improvements  in  Pumping  Engines,  and 
acquires  Celebrity  as  a  Pump-curer 34 

CHAPTER  VH. 

Self-improvement — Ilis  Studies  with  John  AVigham,  the  Farmer's  Son — Sends  his 
Son  to  School — The  Cottage  at  West  Moor — Ingenuity  of  his  Contrivances — Is  ap- 
pointed Engine-wright  of  the  CoUiery — Erects  his  First  Engine — Evening  Studies 
— His  Obligations  to  the  Newcastle  Literary  Institute 46 

CHAPTER  Vm. 

The  Beginnings  of  Railways  and  Locomotives — Early  Tramroads — Speculations  as  to 
mechanical  Methods  of  Traction — Cugnofs  Model  Locomotive — Symington's  Model 
— Murdoch's  Model — Trevethick's  Steam-carriage  and  Locomotive — Blenkinsop's 
Engine — Mr.  Blackett's  Experiments  at  Wylam 57 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Mr.  Stephenson  contemplates  building  a  Locomotive — Is  encouraged  by  Lord  Ravens- 
worth — Want  of  competent  Mechanics — Mr.  Stephenson's  First  Locomotive  de- 
scribed— Successful  Application  of  the  Steam  Blast — His  Second  Locomotive — 
Summary  of  the  important  Results  effected 78 

CHAPTER  X. 

Fatal  Accidents  from  Explosions  in  Coal  Mines — Blasts  in  the  Killingworth  Pit — Mr. 
Stephenson's  Experiments  with  Fire-damp — Contrives  the  First  practicable  Miner's 
Safety  Lamp — Its  trial  in  the  Killingworth  Pit — Further  Experiments  and  Im- 
provements on  the  Lamp — Exhibited  at  Newcastle 91 

CHAPTER  XL 

The  Invention  of  the  Tube  Lamp — Mr.  Stephenson  charged  with  Pirating  Sir  H. 
Davy's  Idea — His  Reply — Dates  of  the  respective  Inventions — Controversy  on  the  , 
Subject — Testimonials  presented  to  both  the  Inventors — Summary  of  Evidence  as 
to  the  Invention  of  the  Lamp 106 

CHAPTER  XH. 

Further  Improvements  in  the  Locomotive — Invents  an  Improved  Rail  and  Chair — 
Invents  Steam  Springs — Experiments  on  Friction  and  Gravity — Views  on  Flat 
Gradients — Superiority  of  Iron  Roads  over  Paved  Roads 127 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

PAOB 
His  Self-education  continuea— Views  on  Education— The  Sun-dial  at  KilUngwortli— 
Apprentices  his  Son  as  Under-Tiewer  at  tlie  Colliery— Sends  him  to  Edinburgh 
University 138 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Slow  Progress  of  Opinion  as  to  Railway  Locomotion— Sir  Richard  Phillips's  Prophetic 
Anticipations— William  James— Edward  Pease,  Projector  of  the  Stockton  and  Dar- 
lington Railway— Thomas  Gray— Mr.  Stephenson  constructs  the  Uetton  Railway. .  147 

CHAPTER  XY. 

Defective  Communication  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester— A  Tramroad  projected 
-Mr.  James  surveys  a  Line— Visits  Mr.  Stephenson  at  Killingworth— Is  admitted 
to  an  Interest  in  the  Patent  Locomotive— Fails  in  introducing  it— Fails  to  produce 
his  Plans  of  the  Liverpool  Tramroad 164 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Mr.  Stephenson's  Introduction  to  Mr.  Pease — Is  appointed  Engineer  to  the  Stockton 
and  Darlington  Railway — Makes  a  new  Survey — Proposed  Employment  of  Loco- 
motives— Fixed  Engines  advocated — 3Ir.  Pease  visits  Killingworth 173 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Working  Survey  of  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Line — Locomotive  Factory  at  New- 
castle commenced — J\>ought-iron  Rails  adopted — The  Gauge  of  the  Railway  settled 
— The  Tractive  Power  to  be  employed — Anticipations  of  Railway  Results — Public 
Opening  of  the  Line — The  "Experiment" — Rival  Coiich  Companies — Race  between 
Locomotive  and  Coach — Results  of  the  Traffic — Creation  of  Middlesborough-on- 
Tees 180 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Project  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway  revived — The  Canal  Companies' 
Opposition — Provisional  Committee  formed — Their  A'isits  to  Killingworth — Mr. 
Stephenson  appointed  to  Survey  a  Line — Difficulties  encountered — Articles  in  the 
"Scotsman"  and  "Quarterly"  on  Railways 197 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Bill  in  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons— Mr. 
Stephenson  in  the  Witness-box — Mr.  Giles  proves  the  Impossibility  of  forming  a 
Railway  over  Chat  Moss — Mr  Stephenson's  Ignorance  denounced  by  the  Counsel 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

PAQE 
for  the  Opposition— Mr.  Adams's  Appeal— Defeat  of  essential  Clauses,  and  With- 
drawal of  the  Bill 212 

CIIAPTHR  XX. 

Renewed  Application  to  Parliament  for  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Bill— Messrs 
Rennie  selected  as  ParUamcntary  Engineers— Passing  of  the  Act— Mr.  Stephenson 
appointed  Chief  Engineer— The  Drainage  of  Chat  Moss— The  Directors  contemplate 
the  Abandonment  of  the  Work— Mr.  Stephenson's  Perseverance— His  Organization 
of  Labor— The  Railway  Navvy— Progress  of  the  Works- Private  Life  and  Habits 
at  Liverpool 230 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

General  Opposition  to  the  Locomotive— Mr.  Telford's  Report— Variety  of  Schemes 
suggested  for  the  working  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway— Messrs. 
Walker  and  Rastrick's  Report  in  favor  of  fixed  Engines  and  against  the  Locomotive 
—The  Directors  offer  a  Prize  of  500?.  for  the  best  Engine 250 

CHAPTER  XXH. 

The  Newcastle  Locomotive  Foundry— Robert  Stephenson's  Return  from  America- 
Rencontre  with  Trevethick— The  Building  of  the  "Rocket"— Contrivance  of  the 
Multi-tubular  Boiler— Modification  of  the  Blast-pipe— The  "Rocket"  finished  and 
sent  to  Liverpool 261 

CHAPTER  XXni. 

The  Locomotive  Competition  at  Rainhill— Entry  of  Engines  for  the  Prize— The  Judges 
appointed— The  "Rocket"  stript  for  the  Race— The  »  Novelty  "—The  "  Sans- 
pareil"— The  Performances  of  the  "  Rocket  "—AVins  the  Prize— Congratulations 
of  Mr  Stephenson— The  End  of  the  "  Rocket " 274 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Completion  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Line— The  Public  Opening— Fatal  Acci- 
dent to  Mr.  Huskisson— Lord  Brougham's  Panegyric  of  the  Railway— Commercial 
Results  of  the  Undertaking— Further  Improvements  in  the  Locomotive— Alleged 
Monopoly  —  The  Workmen  employed  —  Improvement  of  the  Road  and  Rolling 
Stock, 282 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Importance  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  Invention  of  the  Passenger  Engine— Government 
and  Railways— .Toint-stock  Companies— New  Railways  projected  and  made— The 
London  and  Birmingham  Railway— The  Kilsby  Tunnel— Excess  in  the  Cost  of 


CONTENTS.  Xm 

PAQE 
Construction  beyond  the  Estimates — Magnitude  of  tlie  Works — Comparison  with 
the  Great  Pyramid 297 

CHAPTER  XXVI.  *' 

Advance  of  Public  Opinion  in  favor  of  Railways — Singular  Instances  of  Opposition 
to  Railways  and  Predictions  of  Failure — Locomotion  on  Common  Roads  promoted 
by  the  Legislature — Results  of  the  Opening  from  London  to  Liverpool,  etc. — Bene- 
fits to  the  Public — Traveling  by  Stage-coach  and  Private  Carriage — Mr.  Stephenson 
la  a  Stage-coach  Accident — The  Railway  at  length  adopted  by  all  Classes 317 

CHAPTER  XXVn. 

Leases  the  Snibston  Estate — Discovery  of  Beds  of  Coal — Private  Life  at  Alton  Grange 
— Busiest  Period  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  Career — Anecdote  of  the  Starved  Robins — 
Lines  in  the  Northern  and  Midland  Districts — The  Manchester  and  Leeds — Lord 
■\Vharncliffe's  Opposition  in  Committee — The  Littleborough  Tunnel — The  North 
Midland — Comparison  of  the  Works  with  Napoleon's  Road  across  the  Simplon — 
Mr.  Stephenson's  Anticipations  as  to  the  Coal  Traffic  to  London  by  Railway — The 
York  and  North  Midland — Public  Opening — The  Sheffield  and  Rotherham — Mr. 
Stephenson's  Pupils  and  Assistants 331 


CHAPTER  XXVm. 

Surveys  an  East  Coast  Line  to  Scotland — Line  from  Chester  to  Holyhead — West 
Coast  Line  to  Glasgow— Leeds  and  Bradford — Rapidity  of  Railway  Development — 
Is  checked  by  the  Monetary  Pressure 35" 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

The  Modern  School  of  English  Engineers— Fast  Men — History  of  the  Narrow  Gauge 
— Increased  Width  on  the  Great  Western— Mr.  Brunei— Battle  of  the  Gauges — 
The  Atmospheric  Railway — The  Undulating  System — Notions  of  Fast  Traveling — 
Mr.  Stephenson  invents  a  Railway  Safety-brake — His  Moderate  Views  of  Railway 
Speed,  etc.,  compared  with  those  of  the  Fast  Men — Commercial  Considerations, . . .  368 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

Mr.  Stephenson  resigns  the  Chief  Engineership  of  several  Railways — Residence  at 
Tapton  in  Derbyshire — Leases  Clay  Cross  and  Tapton  Collieries — Proposed  Testi- 
monial— ^Sir  Robert  Peel's  AUusion  to  his  useful  Career — His  Interest  in  Mechanics' 
Institutes — Chairman  of  Yarmouth  and  Norwich  Railway — Completion  of  the  East 
Coast  Route  to  Newcastle — Public  Celebration  of  the  Event — Autobiographic 
Sketch — The  Proposed  Northumberland  Atmospheric  Line — The  Newcastle  High- 
level  Bridge 385 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

PAOI 
Railway  Management — Railway  Success  stimulates  Speculation—  Multitude  of  New 
Projects — Sale  of  Premiums  of  new  Shares  on  'Change — The  Railway  Mania — ^Mr. 
Stephenson  holds  aloof  from  and  discountenances  it — Immense  Number  of  New 
Lines  authorized  by  Parliament — Sir  Robert  Peel's  Encouragement  of  direct  and 
uneven  Lines — Mr.  Stephenson's  Letter  of  Expostulation — Legislative  Bungling — 
Great  Waste  of  Capital — Demoralizing  Effects  of  the  Mania — The  Navvy  as  a  Con- 
tractor— Mr.  Stephenson's  Mode  of  executing  Railway  Works 402 

CHAPTER  XXXn. 

Introduction  to  Mr.  Hudson — Ilis  Railway  Career — The  Railway  King — Acknowledg- 
ment of  Mr.  Stephenson's  Services  —  Public  Statue  proposed  —  Mr.  Hudson's 
Ap-ropriation  of  Shares  —  Results  of  the  Railway  Saturnalia  —  Mr.  Hudson  de- 
throned    419 

CHAPTER  XXXm. 

The  Railway  System  early  adopted  by  Leopold,  King  of  the  Belgians — Mr.  Stephen- 
son consulted  in  the  laying  out  of  the  Belgian  Railways — Is  made  Knight  of  the 
Order  of  Leopold — Journeys  of  Railway  Inspection  in  Belgium — Banquet  at  Ghent 
and  Brussels — Interview  with  the  King — ^Visit  to  France  and  Spain — Illness  and 
Return  to  England 428 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Horticultural  Pursuits  at  Tapton — His  Pines..  Melons,  and  Grapes — Makes  Cucum- 
bers grow  straight — Stock-feeding — Theory  of  Vegetation — Fattening  of  Chickens 
— Bees — Indoor  Habits — Conversable  Faces  ;  Lord  Denman — A'isits  of  Friends — 
Reverence  for  Nature — The  Microscope — Spirit  of  Frolic — A  "Crowdie  Night" — 
Humble  Visitors — Rebukes  Foppery — Visits  to  London  and  Newcastle — Visit  to  Sir 
Robert  Peel  at  Drayton — The  Clay  Cross  Workmen's  Institute 440 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

Correspondence  with  Inventors — Invents  a  Three-cylinder  Locomotive — His  self- 
acting  Carriage-brake — Public  Opening  of  the  Trent  Valley  Railway — Railway 
Celebration  at  Manchester — Meeting  with  Emerson — Illness  and  Death — Tribute 
of  the  London  and  Northwestern  Railway  Company  to  his  Memory — Statues — 
Portrait 453 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Character  of  George  Stephenson — Race — Self-reliance — Improvement  of  Time — Per- 
severance— Encounter  with  DiflBculties — Thoroughness — Determination — Attention 
to  Details — Care  for  his  Son's  Education — Admiration  inspired  by  him — Generosity 
— Honest  Thrift — Patience — Comparison  with  Watt — Manners  and  Deportment — 
Close  Observation  of  Facts — Hatred  of  Humbug — "Ornamental  Initials" — The 
Civil  Engineers — Offer  of  Knighthood — Conclusion 466 


CONTENTS.  XV 

RESUME  OF  THE  RAILWAY  SYSTEM  AND  ITS  RESULTS. 

BY   R.   STEPHEXSOX,   ESQ.,   M.P. 

PAGE 
Length  of  Railways  in  Great  Britain — Cost — Works — Working — Traffic — Wear  and 
Tear — Fares — Postal  Facilities  afforded  by  Railways — Legislation  for  Railways — 
Management  of  Railways — Electric  Telegraph — Accidents — General  Results — Prac- 
tical Application 483 


0 

m 

fl 
i) 

A 

ft 

0 

it 
ft 
0 

(1) 

0 

0 

V 

o 
(3 

ft 


a 


LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 


CHAPTER    I. 


EARLY  YEARS. 


Arout  eight  miles  west  of  Newcastle-on-Tyiie  stands  the 
colliery  village  of  Wylam,  consisting  of  a  number  of  mean 
cottages,  situated  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river  Tyne.  The 
Newcastle  and  Carlisle  railway  runs  along  the  opposite  bank ; 
and  the  traveler  by  that  hne  sees  only  the  usual  signs  of  a  col- 
liery in  the  unsightly  pumping-engine  surrounded  by  heaps  of 
ashes,  coal-dust  and  slag ;  while  a  neighboring  iron-furnace,  in 
full  blast,  throws  out  dense  smoke  and  loud  jets  of  steam  by  day, 
and  lurid  flames  at  night.  These  works  fonn  the  nucleus  of  the 
village,  which  is  almost  entirely  occupied  by  coal  miners  and 
iron-furnace  men. 

There  is  nothing  to  interest  one  in  the  village  itself.  But,  a 
few  hundred  yards  from  its  eastern  extremity  stands  a  humble 
detached  dwelling,  which  will  be  interesting  to  many  as  the 
bii-thplace  of  George  Stephenson,  the  Railway  Engineer.  It  is 
a  common,  two-storied,  red-tiled  building,  portioned  off  into  four 
laborers'  apartments.  The  house  is  known  by  the  name  of 
High  Street  House,  and  was  originally  so  called  because  it 
stands  by  the  side  of  what  used  to  be  the  old  riding  Post  Road 
1 


2  LIFE  OF    GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

or  Street,  between  Newcastle  and  Ilexliam,  along  which  the 
post  was  carried  on  horseback  within  the  memory  of  people 
still  living.  At  an  eaidier  period,  this  road  used  to  be  so  unsafe 
that  the  Judges,  when  on  circuit,  were  escorted  along  it  by  a 
considerable  body  of  ai-med  men,  as  a  protection  against  the 
freebooters  who  invested  the  district.  A  sum  of  money,  de- 
nominated "dagger  money,"  was  annually  contributed  by  the 
Sheriff  of  Newcastle,  for  the  purpose  of  providing  daggers  and 
other  weapons  for  the  escort ;  and  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  this 
tribute  still  continues  to  be  paid  in  broad  gold  pieces  of  Charles 
the  First's  coinage,  though  the  necessity  for  it  has  long  since 
ceased.* 

The  lower  room  in  the  west  end  of  the  humble  cottage  referred 
to,  was  the  home  of  the  Stephenson  family ;  and  there  George 
Stephenson  was  born  on  the  9th  of  June,  1781.  The  apartment 
is  now,  what  it  was  then,  an  ordinary  laborer's  dwelling — its 
walls  unplastered,  its  floor  of  clay,  and  the  bai-e  rafters  are  ex- 
posed overhead. 

Robert  Stephenson,  or  "Old  Bob,"  as  the  neighbors  familiarly 
called  him,  and  his  wife  Mabel,  were  a  respectable  couple,  careful 
and  hard  working.  They  belonged  to  the  ancient  and  honorable 
family  of  Workers — that  extensive  family  which  constitutes  the 
backbone  of  our  country's  greatness  —  the  common  working 
people  of  England.  A  tradition  is,  indeed,  preserved  in  the 
family,  that  old  Robert  Stephenson's  father  and  mother  came 
across  the  border  from  Scotland,  on  the  loss  of  considerable  prop- 
erty there.  Miss  Stephenson,  daughter  of  Robert  Stephenson's 
tliird  son  John,  states  that  a  suit  was  even  commenced  for  the 
recovery  of  the  property,  but  was  dropt  for  want  of  means  to 
prosecute  it.  Certain  it  is,  however,  that  Robert  Stephenson's 
position  throughout  life  was  that  of  an  humble  workman.  After 
marrying  at  Walbottle,  a  village  situated  between  Wylam  and 
Newcastle,  he  removed  with  his  wife  Mabel  to  Wylam,  where 

*  Notes  and  Queries,  Docembor  27th,  1856. 


HIS    MOTHER.  6 

he  found  employment  as  fireman  of  the  old  pumping-engine  at 
that  colliery.  The  engine  which  he  "fired"  has  long  since  been 
removed:  as  an  old  villager  said  of  it,  "she  stood  till  she  grew 
fearsome  to  look  at,  and  then  she  was  pulled  down." 

Mabel  Stephenson  was  the  only  daughter  of  Robert  Carr,  a 
dyer  at  Ovingham.  Her  family  had  dwelt  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Newcastle  for  generations.  The  author,  when  engaged  in  trac- 
ing the  early  history  of  George  Stephenson,  casually  entered  into 
conversation  one  day  with  an  old  man  near  Dewley,  a  hamlet 
close  adjoining  Walbottle.  Mabel  Stephenson,  he  said,  had  been 
his  mother's  cousin ;  and  all  their  "forbears"  belonged  to  that 
neighborhood.  It  appears  that  she  was  a  woman  of  somewhat 
delicate  constitution,  nervous  in  temperament,  and  troubled  occa- 
sionally, as  her  neighbors  said,  with  the  "vapors."  But  those 
who  remember  her,  concur  in  asserting  that  "she  was  a  rale 
canny  body."  And  a  woman  of  whom  this  is  said,  by  general 
consent,  in  the  Newcastle  district,  may  be  pronounced  a  worthy 
person  indeed.  It  is  about  the  highest  praise  of  a  woman  which 
Northumbrians  can  express.  The  meaning  of  the  word  "canny" 
with  them  is  quite  different  from  that  which  it  bears  in  Yorkshire 
or  the  Scotch  Lowlands.  To  be  "canny,"  amongst  the  Scotch, 
is  to  be  somewhat  innocuous  and  rather  soft ;  in  Yorkshire,  it 
means  sly  and  knowing,  with  an  assumed  simplicity  of  manner ; 
but  in  Northumberland,  it  means  goodness  itself — something 
closely  approaching  to  j)erfection.  Applied  to  a  woman,  it 
"caps"  eveiy  other  comphment,  and  is  a  climax  to  them  all. 

The  Northumbi'ian  people,  generally,  exhibit  many  striking 
and  characteristic  qualities,  inhei'ited,  most  probably,  from  the 
hardy  and  energetic  Northmen,  who  settled  in  such  numbers 
along  the  north-eastern  coasts  many  centuries  ago.  Taking  them 
as  a  whole,  they  are  bigger  and  hardier  men* — more  enter- 

*  Their  tenacity  of  life  would  seem  to  be  greater.  The  locomotive  engineer  of  a  large 
railway  informs  me.  as  the  result  of  a  long  experience,  that  the  north-country  engine- 
drivers  and  stokers  usually  recover  from  injuries  to  body  and  limb,  which,  to  south-country 
workmen,  are  almost  invariably  fatal. 


4  LIFE  OF    GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

prismg,  energetic  and  laborious — and  of  more  marked  individ- 
uality—  than  the  inhabitants  of  our  more  southern  counties. 
They  are  rougher  in  manner  and  more  difficult  to  polish ;  but 
they  are  full  of  shrewdness  and  mother  wit,  and  possessed  of 
great  strength  of  character,  of  which,  indeed,  their  remarkable 
guttural  speech  is  but  a  type.  The  name  Stephenson  or  Steven- 
son is  said  to  signify,  in  the  Norse  tongue,  the  son  of  Steeve,  or 
tlie  strong ;  and  certainly  the  subject  of  this  story  exhibited,  in 
a  remarkable  manner,  this  characteristic  quality  of  his  family. 

George  Stephenson  was  the  second  of  a  family  of  six  childi-en. 
The  family  Bible  of  Robert  and  IMabel  Stephenson,  which  seems 
to  have  come  into  their  possession  in  November,  1790,  contains 
the  following  record  of  the  births  of  these  cliildren,  evidently 
written  by  one  hand  and  at  one  time :  — 

"A  Rechester  of  the  children  belonging  Robert  and  Mabel  Stephesoa  — 
"  James  Stepheson  Was  Born  March  the  4  day  1779 
"  George  Stepheson  Was  Born  June  9  day  1781 
"  Blender  Stepheson  Was  Born  April  the  IG  day  1784 
"  Robert  Stepheson  Was  Born  March  the  10  day  1788 
"  John  stepheson  Was  Born  November  the  4  day  1789 
"Ann  Stepheson  Was  Born  July  the  19  day  1792."'  * 

As  the  wages  earned  by  Robert  Stephenson  as  fireman,  when 
in  full  work,  did  not  amount  to  more  than  twelve  shillings  a 
week,  it  may  be  inferred  that,  even  with  the  most  rigid  economy, 
there  was  very  little  to  spare  for  the  clothing,  and  nothing  for  the 
schooling,  of  the  children.  As  an  aged  neighbor,  who  remem- 
bers them  well,  says  of  the  parents:  "They  had  very  little  to 
come  and  go  upon;  they  were  honest  folk,  but  sore  haudden 
doon  in  the  world." 

Robert  Stephenson  was  a  slender  man,  of  attenuated  frame. 
He  was  an  exceedingly  amiable  person,  and  was  long  remem- 

*  Of  the  two  daughters.  Eleanor  married  Stephen  Liddell,  afterwards  employed  in  the 
LocomotiTe  Factory  in  Newcastle :  and  Anne  married  John  Nixon,  with  whom  she  emi- 
prated  to  the  United  States.  John  Stephenson  .was  accidently  killed  at  the  Locomotive 
Factory,  in  January,  1831. 


HIS    FATHER.  5' 

bercd  for  his  curious  love  of  nature  as  well  as  of  romance.     He 
was  accustomed,  while  tending  his  engine-fire  in  the  evenings,  to 
draw  around  him  the  young  people  of  the  village,  and  to  feast 
their  imaginations  with  his  wonderful  stories  of  Sinbad  the  Sailor, 
and  Robinson  Crusoe,  besides  others  of  his  own  invention.     Hence 
he  was  an  immense  favorite  with  all  the  boys  and  girls  of  the 
place,  and  "Bob's  engine-fire"  was  always  their  favorite  resort. 
Another  feature  in  his  character,  by  Avhich  he  was  long  remem- 
bered, was  his  strong  affection  for  birds  and  animals  of  all  sorts. 
In  the  winter  time,  he  had  usually  a  fiock  of  tame  robins  about 
him,  and  they  would  come  hopping  familiarly  round  the  engine- 
fire,  to  pick  up  the  crumbs  which  he  saved  for  them  out  of  his 
slender  dinner.     In  summer  time,  he  went  bird-nesting  in  his 
leisure  hours ;  and  one  day  he  took  his  little  boy  George  to  see 
a  blackbird's  nest  for  the  first  time.     Holding  liim  up  in  his  arms, 
the  boy  gazed  with  wonder  into  the  nest  full  of  young  birds — a 
sight  which  he  never  forgot,  but  used  to  speak  of  with  delight 
to  his  intimate  friends,  when  he  himself  had  groAvn  an  old  man. 

While  a  boy  at  Wylam,  George  led  the  ordinary  life  of  work- 
ing-people's children.  He  played  about  the  doors ;  went  bird- 
nesting  when  he  could ;  and  ran  errands  to  the  village.  In 
course  of  time  he  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  carrying  his 
father's  dinner  to  him  while  at  work ;  and  he  helped  to  nurse  his 
younger  brothers  and  sisters  at  home — for  in  the  poor  man's 
dwelling  every  hand  must  early  be  turned  to  useful  account. 
None  of  the  children  ever  went  to  school ;  the  family  was  too 
poor,  and  food  too  dear,  to  admit  of  that. 

One  of  the  duties  of  the  elder  children  was  to  see  that  the 
younger  ones  were  ke})t  out  of  the  way  of  the  chaldron  wagons 
which  were  then  dragged  by  horses  along  the  wooden  tramroad 
immediately  in  front  of  the  cottage  door.  Wooden  railways  were 
early  used  in  Northumberland ;  and  this  at  Wylam  was  destined 
to  be  the  first  on  which  a  locomotive  engine  traveled  regularly 
between  the  coal-pit  and  the  loading-quay.     At  the  time,  how 


LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 


ever,  of  which  we  speak,  locomotives  had  scarcely  been  dreamt 
of;  horses  were  still  the  only  tractive  power ;  and  one  of  the 
daily  sights  of  young  Stephenson  was  the  coal-wagons  dragged 
by  their  means  along  this  wooden  railway  at  Wylam. 

Thas  eight  years  passed ;  after  which,  the  coal  having  been 
worked  out  on  the  north  side,  the  old  engine  was  pulled  down, 
and  the  Stephenson  family,  following  the  work,  removed  from 
Wylam  to  Dewley  Burn.  The  Duke  of  Northumberland,  (to 
whom  most  of  the  property  in  the  neighborhood  belongs,)  had 
opened  a  new  pit  there.  An  engine  was  erected,  of  which  Robei't 
Hawthorn,  father  of  the  afterwards  celebrated  Newcastle  engi- 
neers, was  the  plugman  or  engineman ;  and  Robert  Stephenson 
was  appointed  to  act  as  his  fireman. 

Dewley  Burn,  at  this  day,  consists  of  a  few  old-fashioned  low- 
roofed  cottages,  standing  on  either  side  of  a  babbUng  little  stream. 
They  are  connected  by  a  rustic  wooden  bridge,  which  spans  the 
rift  in  front  of  the  doors.  Li  the  central  one-roomed  cottage  of 
this  group,  on  the  right  bank,  Robert  Stephenson  settled  tor  a 
time  with  his  family.  The  pit  at  which  he  was  employed  stood 
in  the  rear  of  the  cottages.  It  has  long  since  been  worked  out 
and  closed  in ;  and  only  the  marks  of  it  are  now  visible — a  sort 
of  blasted  grass  covering,  but  scarcely  concealing  the  scorije  and 
coal-dust,  accumulated  about  the  mouth  of  the  old  pit.  Looking 
across  the  fields,  one  can  still  discern  the  marks  of  the  former 
wagon-way,  leading  in  the  direction  of  Walbottle.  It  was  joined 
on  its  course  by  another  wagon-road  leading  from  the  dir(^ction 
of  Black  Callerton.  Indeed,  there  is  scarcely  a  field  in  the 
neighborhood  that  does  not  exhibit  traces  of  the  workings  of 
former  pits.  But  grass  now  grows  over  all  the  wagon-roads 
there.  The  coal  has  all  been  "won  ;"  and  pit  engines,  appai-atus 
and  workmen,  have  long  since  passed  away. 


CHAPTER  II. 


BEGINS  A  CAREER  OF  LABOR. 


As  EVERY  child  in  a  poor  man's  house  is  a  burden  until  his 
little  hands  can  be  turned  to  profitable  account  and  made  to  earn 
money  towards  supplying  the  indispensable  wants  of  the  family, 
George  Stephenson  was  put  to  work  as  soon  as  an  opportunity 
of  employment  presented  itself.  A  widow,  named  Grace  Ainslie, 
then  occupied  the  neighboring  farmhouse  of  Dewley.  She  kept 
a  number  of  cows,  and  had  the  privilege  of  grazing  them  along 
the  wagon-ways.  She  needed  a  boy  to  herd  the  cows,  to  keep 
them  out  of  the  way  of  the  wagons,  and  prevent  their  straying  or 
trespassing  on  the  neighbors'  "liberties  ;"  the  boy's  duty  was  also 
to  bar  the  gates  at  night  after  all  the  wagons  had  passed.  George 
petitioned  fur  this  post,  and  to  his  great  joy  he  was  appointed,  at 
the  wage  of  two-pence  a  day. 

It  was  light  employment,  and  he  had  plenty  of  spare  time  on 
his  hands,  wliich  he  spent  in  bird-nesting,  making  whistles  out  of 
reeds  and  scrannel  straws,  and  erecting  Lilliputian  mills  in  the 
little  water-streams  that  ran  into  the  Dewley  bog.  But  his  favor- 
ite amusement  at  this  early  age  was  erecting  clay  engines,  in 
conjunction  with  his  chosen  playmate,  Tom  Thirlaway.  They 
found  the  clay  for  their  engines  in  the  adjoining  bog ;  and  the 
hemlock.,  wliicli  grew  about,  supplied  them  with  abundance  of 
imaginary  steampipes.     The  place  is  still  pointed  out,  "just  aboon 

(7) 


8  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

the  cut-end,"  as  the  people  of  the  hamlet  describe  it,  where  the 
future  engineer  made  his  first  essays  in  modeling.  This  early 
indication  of  a  mechanical  turn  may  remind  the  reader  of  a  sim- 
ilar anecdote  of  the  boy  Smeaton,  who,  when  missed  one  day  by 
his  parents,  was  found  mounted  on  the  roof  of  the  cotta"-e  fixinf  a 
puny  windmill. 

As  the  boy  grew  older  and  more  able  to  woik,  he  was  set  to 
lead  the  horses  when  ploughing,  tliough  scarce  big  enough  to 
stride  across  the  furrows ;  and  he  used  afterwards  to  say  that  he 
rode  to  his  work  in  the  mornings,  at  an  hour  when  most  other 
children  of  his  age  were  fast  asleep  in  their  l)eds.  He  was  also 
employed  to  hoe  turnips,  and  do  similar  fai-m  work,  for  which  he 
was  paid  the  advanced  wage  of  four-pence  a  day.  But  his 
highest  ambition  was  to  be  taken  on  at  the  colliery  where  his 
father  worked ;  and  he  shortly  joined  his  elder  brother  James 
there  as  a  "corf-bitter,"  or  "picker,"  where  he  was  employed  in 
clearing  the  coal  of  stones,  bats  and  dross.  His  wages  were  now 
advanced  at  sixpence  a  day,  and  afterwards  to  eightpence  when 
he  was  set  to  drive  the  gin-horse. 

Shortly  after,  he  went  to  Black  Callerton  Colliery  to  drive  the 
gm  there.  And  as  that  colliery  lies  about  two  miles  across  the 
fields  from  Dewley  Burn,  the  boy  walked  that  distance  early  in 
the  morning  to  his  work,  returning  home  late  in  the  evenino-. 
Some  of  the  old  people  of  Black  Callerton  still  remember  him  as 
a  "grit  bare-legged  laddie,"  and  they  describe  jiim  as  being  then 
"very  quick-witted,  and  full  of  fun  and  tricks."  As  they  said, 
"there  was  nothing  under  the  sun  but  he  tried  to  imitate."  He 
was  usually  foremost  in  the  sports  and  pastimes  of  vouth. 

Among  his  first  strongly  developed  tastes,  was  the  love  of  birds 
and  animals,  which  he  inherited  from  his  father.  Blackbirds 
were  his  especial  favorites.  The  hedges  between  Dewley  and 
Black  Callerton  were  capital  bird-nesting  places ;  and  there  was 
not  a  nest  there  that  he  did  not  know  of,  When  the  young  birds 
were  old  enough,  he  would  bring  them  home  with  him,  feed  them, 


jolly's  close.  9 

and  teach  them  to  fly  about  the  cottage  unconfined  by  cages. 
One  of  his  blackbirds  became  so  tame  that,  after  flying  about  the 
doors  all  day,  and  in  and  out  of  the  cottage,  it  would  take  up  its 
roost  upon  the  bed-head  at  night.  And  most  singular  of  all,  the 
bird  would  disappear  in  the  spring  and  summer  months,  when  it 
was  supposed  to  go  into  the  woods  to  pair  and  rear  its  young, 
after  which  it  would  reappear  at  the  cottage  and  resume  its  social 
habits  during  the  winter.  This  Avent  on  for  several  years. 
George  had  also  a  stock  of  tame  rabbits,  for  which  he  built  a 
little  house  behind  the  cottage,  and  for  many  years  he  continued 
to  pride  himself  upon  the  superiority  of  his  breed. 

After  he  had  driven  the  gin  for  some  time  at  Dewley  and 
Black  Callerton,  he  was  taken  on  as  an  assistant  to  his  father  in 
firing  the  engine  at  Dewley.  This  was  a  step  of  promotion  which 
he  had  anxiously  desired ;  his  only  fear  being  lest  he  should  be 
found  too  young  for  the  work.  Indeed,  he  afterwards  used  to 
relate  how  he  was  wont  to  hide  himself  from  sight  when  the 
owner  of  the  colliery  went  around,  lest  he  should  be  thought  too 
little  a  boy  thus  to  earn  his  small  wages.  Since  he  had  modeled 
his  clay  engines  in  the  bog,  his  young  ambition  was  to  be  an 
engine-man.  And  to  be  an  assistant  fireman  was  the  first  step 
towards  this  position.  Great,  therefore,  was  his  exultation  when, 
at  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  he  was  appointed  assistant  fire- 
man, at  the  wage  of  a  shilling  a  day. 

But  the  coal  at  Dewley  Burn  being  at  length  worked  out,  and 
the  pit  being  about  to  be  "laid  in,"  the  family  prepared  for 
another  removal.  This  time  their  removal  was  to  Jolly's  Close, 
a  few  miles  to  the  south,  close  behind  the  village  of  Newburn, 
where  another  coal  mine  of  the  Duke's  called  "the  Duke's 
Winnin,"  had  recently  been  opened  out. 

Jolly's  Close  then  consisted  of  a  small  row  of  cottages  situated 
upon  a  flat  space  of  ground  enclosed  by  lofty  banks  on  either 
side,  at  the  bottom  of  the  narrow  rift  called  Walbottle  Dean. 
Jolly's  Close,  however,  no  longer  exists,  and  only  a  few  of  the 


to  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

oldest  people  in  the  neighborhood  are  aware  that  such  a  place 
ever  was.  A  mountain  of  earth,  shale  and  debris,  the  accumula- 
tion of  fifty  years,  lies  tumbled  over  its  site — the  rubbish,  or 
"deeds,"  having  been  shot  over  from  tlie  hillside,  once  a  green 
hill,  but  now  a  scarified,  blasted  rock,  along  which  furnaces  blaze 
and  engines  labor  night  and  day.  The  stream  in  the  hollow, 
wliich  used  to  run  in  front  of  old  Robert  Stephenson's  cottage 
door,  is  made  to  pay  tribute  in  the  form  of  water  power  at  every 
wheel  in  the  Dean ;  and  only  a  narrow  strip  now  remains  of 
what  was  once  a  green  meadow. 

One  of  the  old  persons  in  the  neighborhood,  who  knew  the 
family  well,  describes  the  dwelling  in  which  they  lived,  as  a  poor 
cottage  of  only  one  room,  in  which  the  father,  mother,  four  sons 
and  two  daughters  lived  and  slept.  It  was  crowded  with  three 
low-poled  beds.  This  one  apartment  served  for  parlor,  kitchen, 
sleeping-room  and  all.  The  cottage  went  with  the  work,  and  the 
use  of  it  formed  part  of  the  Avorkman's  wage — the  Duke  being 
both  the  employer  and  the  landlord. 

The  children  of  the  Stephenson  family  were  now  growing  up 
apace,  and  were  most  of  them  of  an  age  to  be  able  to  eai'n  money 
at  various  kinds  of  colliery  work.  James  and  George,  the  two 
eldest  sons,  worked  as  assistant  firemen ;  and  the  younger  boys 
worked  as  wheelers  or  pickers  on  the  banktops.  The  two  girls 
helped  their  mother  with  the  household  work. 

So  fiir  as  weekly  earnings  went,  the  family  were  at  this  time 
pretty  comfortable.  Their  united  earnings  amounted  to  from 
35s.  to  4O5.  a  week ;  and  they  were  enabled  to  command  a  fair 
share  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  But  it  will  be  remembered  that 
in  those  days,  from  1797  to  1802,  it  was  much  more  dilficult  for 
the  working  classes  to  live  than  it  is  now ;  for  money  did  not  go 
near  so  far.  The  price  of  bread  was  excessive.  Wheat,  which 
for  three  years  preceding  1795,  had  averaged  only  54s.,  now 
advanced  to  7Gs.  a  quarter;  and  it  continued  to  rise  until  in 
December,  1800,  it  had  advanced  to  130s.,  and  barley  and  oats 


FEATS    OF    STRENGTH.  11 

in  proportion.  There  was  a  great  dearth  of  provisions ;  com 
riots  were  of  frequent  occurrence ;  and  the  taxes  on  all  articles 
of  consumption  were  very  heavy.  The  war  with  Napoleon  was 
then  raging ;  derangements  of  trade  were  frequent,  causing  occa- 
sional suspensions  of  employment  in  all  departments  of  industry, 
from  the  pressure  of  which  working  people  are  always  the  first 
to  suffer. 

During  this  severe  period,  George  Stephenson  continued  to 
live  with  his  parents  at  Jolly's  Close.  Other  workings  of  the 
coal  were  opened  out  in  the  neighborhood ;  and  to  one  of  these 
he  was  removed  as  fireman  on  his  own  account.  This  was  called 
the  "Mid  Mill  Winnin  ;"  there  he  had  for  his  mate  a  young  man 
named  Bill  Coe,  and  to  these  two  was  entrusted  the  working  of 
the  little  engine  put  up  at  Mid  Mill.  They  worked  together 
there  for  about  two  years,  by  twelve-hour  shifts,  George  firing 
the  engine  at  the  wage  of  a  shilling  a  day. 

He  was  now  fifteen  years  old.  His  ambition  was  as  yet 
limited  to  attaining;  the  standinsj  of  a  full  workman,  at  a  man's 
wages ;  and  with  that  view  he  endeavored  to  attain  such  a 
knowledge  of  his  engine  as  would  eventually  lead  to  his  employ- 
ment as  an  engine-man,  with  its  accompanying  advantage  of 
higher  pay.  He  was  a  steady,  sober,  hard-working  young  man, 
and  nothino:  more,  according  to  the  estimate  of  his  fellow-work- 
men. 

One  of  his  favorite  pastimes  in  by-hours  was  trying  feats  of 
strength  with  his  companions.  Although  in  frame  he  was  not 
particularly  robust,  yet  he  was  big  and  bony,  and  considered  very 
strong  for  his  age.  His  principal  competitor  was  Robert  Haw- 
thorn, with  whom  he  had  frequent  trials  of  muscular  strength 
and  dexterity,  such  as  lifting  heavy  weights,  throwing  the 
hammer,  and  putting  the  stone.  At  throwing  the  hammer 
George  had  no  compeer ;  but  there  was  a  knack  in  putting  the 
stone  which  he  could  never  acquire,  and  here  Hawthorn  beat 
him.     At  lifting  heavy  weights  ofi"  the  ground  from  between  liis 

« 


12  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

feet — by  means  of  a  bar  of  iron  passed  through  Ihem,  the  bar 
placed  against  his  knees  as  a  fulcrum,  and  then  straightening  the 
spine  and  lifting  tliem  sheer  up — Ste])lienson  was  very  successful. 
On  one  occasion,  they  relate,  he  lifted  as  much  as  sixty  stone 
weight  in  this  way — a  striking  indication  of  his  strength  of  bone 
and  vigor  of  muscle. 

When  the  pit  at  Mid  Mill  was  closed,  George  and  his  compan- 
ion Coe  were  sent  to  work  another  pumping-engine,  erected  neai' 
Throckley  Bridge,  where  they  continued  for  some  months.  It 
was  while  Avorking  at  this  place,  that  his  wages  were  raised  to 
1 2s.  a  week — an  event  of  no  small  importance  in  his  estimation. 
On  coming  out  of  the  foreman's  office  that  Saturday  evening  on 
which  he  received  the  advance,  he  announced  the  fact  to  bis 
fellow-workmen,  adding  triumphantly,  "  I  am  now  a  made  man 
for  life!" 

The  pit  opened  at  Newbura,  at  which  old  Robert  Stephenson 
worked,  proving  a  fjiilure,  it  was  closed ;  and  a  new  pit  was  sunk 
at  Water-row,  on  a  strip  of  land  lying  between  the  Wylam 
wagon-way  and  the  river  Tyne,  about  half  a  mile  west  of  New- 
burn  Church.  A  pumping-engine  Avas  erected  there  by  Robert 
Hawthorn,  now  the  Duke's  engineer  at  Walbottlc ;  and  old  Ste- 
phenson went  to  work  it  as  fireman,  his  son  George  acting  as  the 
engineman  or  plugman.  At  this  time  he  was  about  seventeen 
years  old — a  very  youthful  age  for  occupying  so  responsible  a 
post.  He  had  thus  already  got  ahead  of  his  father  in  his  station 
as  a  workman ;  for  the  plugman  holds  a  higher  grade  than  the 
fireman,  requiring  more  practical  knowledge  and  skill,  and  usu- 
ally receiving  higher  wages. 

Tlie  duty  of  the  plugman  was  to  watch  the  engine  and  to  see 
that  it  kept  well  in  work,  smd  that  the  pumps  wei-e  efficient  in 
drawing  the  water.  When  the  water-level  in  the  pit  was  lowered, 
and  the  suction  became  incomplete  through  the  exposure  of  the 
suction  holes,  then  his  business  was  to  proceed  to  the  bottom  of 
the  shaft,  and   plug   the  tube    so  that   the  pump  should  draw ; 


STEAM-ENGINE.  13 

lience  the  designation  of  Plugman.  If  a  stoppage  in  the  engine 
took  place  through  any  defect  in  it  which  he  was  incapable  of 
remedying,  then  it  was  his  duty  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the  chief 
engineer  of  the  colliery  to  set  the  engine  to  rights. 

But  from  the  time  when  George  Stephenson  was  appointed 
fireman,  and  more  particularly  afterwards  as  engine-man,  he  ap- 
plied himself  so  assiduously  and  so  successfully  to  the  study  of 
the  engine  and  its  gearing — taking  the  machine  to  pieces  in  his 
leisure  hours  for  the  purpose  of  cleaning  and  mastering  its  various 
parts — that  he  very  soon  acquired  a  thorough  practical  knowledge 
of  its  construction  and  mode  of  working,  and  thus  he  very  rarely 
needed  to  call  to  his  aid  the  engineer  of  the  colliery.  His  engine 
became  a  sort  of  pet  with  him,  and  he  was  never  wearied  of 
watching  and  inspecting  it  with  devoted  admiration. 

There  is  indeed  a  peculiar  fascination  about  an  engine,  to  the 
intelligent  workman  who  watches  and  feeds  it.  It  is  almost 
sublime  in  its  untiring  industry  and  quiet  power ;  capable  of 
performing  the  most  gigantic  work,  yet  so  docile  that  a  child's 
hand  may  guide  it.  No  wonder,  therefore,  that  the  workman, 
who  is  the  daily  companion  of  this  life-like  machine,  and  is  con- 
stantly watching  it  with  anxious  care,  at  length  comes  to  regard 
it  with  a  degree  of  personal  interest  and  regard,  speaking  of  it 
often  in  terms  of  glowing  admiration.  This  daily  contemplation 
of  the  steam-engine,  and  the  sight  of  its  steady  action,  is  an  edu- 
cation of  itself  to  the  ingenious  and  thoughtful  workman.  It  is 
certainly  a  striking  and  remarkable  fact,  that  nearly  all  that  has 
been  done  for  the  improvement  of  the  steam-engine  has  been 
accomplished,  not  by  philosophers  and  scientific  men,  but  by 
laborers,  mechanics,  and  engine-men.  It  would  appear  as  if  this 
were  one  of  the  departments  of  practical  science  in  which  the 
higher  powers  of  the  human  mind  must  bend  to  mechanical  in- 
stinct. The  steam-engine  was  but  a  mere  toy,  until  it  was  taken 
in  hand  by  workmen.  Savery  was  originally  a  working  miner, 
Newcomen  a  blacksmith,  and  his  partner  Cawley  a  glazier.     In 


14  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

the  hands  of  "Watt,  the  instrument  maker,  who  devoted  almost  a  life 
to  the  subject,  the  condensing  engine  acquired  gigantic  strength ; 
and  George  Stephenson,  the  colliery  engine-man,  was  certainly 
not  the  least  of  those  who  have  assisted  to  bring  the  high-pressure 
engine  to  its  present  power. 

While  studying  to  master  the  details  of  his  engine,  to  know 
its  weaknesses,  and  to  quicken  its  powers,  George  Stephenson 
gradually  acquired  the  character  of  a  clever  and  improving  work- 
man. Whatever  he  was  set  to  do,  that  he  endeavored  to  do  well 
and  thoroughly ;  never  neglecting  small  matters,  but  aiming  at 
being  a  complete  workman  at  all  points ;  thus  gradually  perfect- 
ing his  own  mechanical  capacity,  and  securing  at  the  same  time 
the  respect  of  his  fellow-workmen  and  the  increased  confidence 
and  esteem  of  liis  employers. 


CHAPTER    III. 

ENGINEMAN  AT  NEWBUKN  —  SELF-CULTURE. 

George  Stephexsox  was  eighteen  years  old  before  he  learnt 
to  read.  He  was  now  almost  a  full-grown  workman,  earning  his 
twelve  shillings  a  week,  and  having  the  charge  of  an  engine, 
which  occupied  his  time  to  the  extent  of  twelve  hours  every  day. 
He  had  thus  very  few  leisure  moments  that  he  could  call  his  owji. 
But  the  busiest  man  will  find  them  if  he  watch  for  them ;  and  if 
he  be  careful  in  turning  these  moments  to  useful  account,  he  will 
prove  them  to  be  the  very  "  gold-dust  of  time,"  as  Young  has  so 
beautifully  described  them. 

To  his  poor  parents  George  Stephenson  owed  a  sound  consti- 
tution and  vigorous  health.  They  had  also  set  before  him  an 
example  of  sobriety,  economy,  and  patient  industry — habits  winch 
are  in  themselves  equivalent  to  principles.  For  habits  are  the 
most  inflexible  of  all  things ;  and  principles  are,  in  fact,  but  the 
names  which  we  assign  to  them.  If  his  parents,  out  of  their 
small  earnings  and  scanty  knowledge,  were  unable  to  give  their 
son  any  literary  culture,  at  all  events  they  had  trained  him  Avell, 
and  furnished  him  with  an  excellent  substratum  of  character. 
Unquestionably,  however,  he  labored  under  a  very  serious  dis- 
advantage in  having  to  master,  at  a  comparatively  advanced  age, 
those  simple  rudiments  of  elementary  instruction,  which  all 
children  in  a  country  calling  itself  civilized  ought  to  have  im- 

(15) 


16  LIFE   OF  GEORGE   STEPUENSOX. 

parted  to  them  at  school.  The  youth  who  reaches  manhood,  and 
enters,  by  necessity,  upon  a  career  of  daily  toil,  without  being 
able  to  read  his  native  language,  does  not  start  on  equal  terms 
with  others  who  have  received  the  benefits  of  such  instruction. 
It  is  true  that  he  who,  by  his  own  voluntary  and  determined 
efforts,  overcomes  the  diificulties  early  thrown  in  his  way,  and 
succeeds  in  eventually  teaching  himself,  will  value  the  education 
thus  acquired  much  more  than  he  to  whom  it  has  been  imparted 
as  a  mere  matter  of  duty,  on  the  part  of  parents  or  of  society. 
What  the  self-educated  man  learns,  becomes  more  thoroughly  his 
own,  makes  a  more  vivid  impression  upon  his  mind,  and  fixes 
itself  more  enduringly  there.  It  usually  also  exercises  a  more 
powerful  influence  in  the  formation  of  his  character,  by  disciplin- 
ing his  spirit  of  self-help,  and  accustoming  him  to  patient  encoun- 
ter with,  and  triumph  over,  difficulties. 

We  have  seen  how  Stephenson's  play-hours  were  occasionally 
occupied  —  in  a  friendly  rivalry  with  his  fellows  in  feats  of 
strength.  Much  also  of  his  spare  time,  when  he  was  not  actually 
employed  in  working  the  engine,  was  devoted  to  cleaning  it  and 
taking  it  to  pieces,  for  the  purpose  of  mastering  its  details.  At 
this  time  he  was  also  paying  some  attention  to  the  art  of  brak- 
ing, which  he  had  expressed  to  Coe  liis  desire  to  learn,  in  order 
that  he  might  improve  his  position,  and  be  advanced  to  higher 

wages. 

Not  many  of  his  fellow-workmen  had  learnt  to  read  ;  but  those 
who  could  do  so,  were  placed  under  frequent  contribution  by 
George  and  the  other  laborers  at  the  pit.  It  was  one  of  their 
greatest  treats  to  induce  some  one  to  read  to  them  by  the  engine- 
fire,  out  of  any  book  or  stray  newspaper  which  might  find  its 
way  into  the  village  of  Newbuni.  Bonaparte  was  then  over- 
running Italy,  and  astounding  Europe  by  his  brilliant  succession 
of  victories  ;  and  there  was  no  more  eager  auditor  of  these  ex- 
ploits, when  read  from  the  newspaper  accounts,  than  the  young 
engineman  at  the  Water-row  Pit. 


SELF- CULTURE.  17 

There  were  also  numerous  stray  bits  of  information  and  in- 
telligence contained  in  these  papers,  which  excited  Stephenson's 
interest.  One  of  these  related  to  the  Egyptian  art  of  hatching 
birds'  eggs  by  means  of  artificial  heat.  Carious  about  everything 
relating  to  birds,  he  determined  to  test  the  art  by  experiment. 
It  was  spring  time,  and  he  forthwith  went  a  bird-nesting  in  the 
adjoining  woods  and  liedges,  where  there  were  few  birds'  nests 
of  which  he  did  not  know.  He  brought  a  collection  of  eggs  of 
all  kinds  mto  the  engine-house,  set  tliem  in  flour  in  a  warm  place, 
covering  the  whole  over  with  wool,  and  then  waited  the  issue  of 
his  experiment.  But  tliough  the  heat  was  kept  as  steady  as 
possible,  and  the  eggs  wex'e  carefully  turned  every  twelve  hours, 
they  never  hatched.  The  eggs  chipped,  and  some  of  them  ex- 
hibited well-grown  chicks ;  but  none  of  the  birds  came  forth 
alive,  and  thus  the  experiment  failed.  This  incident,  however, 
shows  that  the  inquiring  mind  of  the  youth  was  now  fairly  at 
work. 

Another  of  his  favorite  occupations  continued  to  be  the  model- 
ing of  clay  engines.  He  not  only  tried  to  model  engines  which 
he  had  himself  seen,  but  he  also  attempted  to  form  models  in  clay 
of  engines  which  Avere  described  to  him  as  being  in  existence ; 
and  doubtless  his  modeling  at  this  time,  imperfect  though  his 
knowledge  was,  exhibited  considerable  improvement  upon  his 
first  attempts  in  the  art  when  a  herd-boy  in  the  bog  at  Dewley 
Burn.  He  was  told,  however,  that  all  the  wonderful  engines  of 
Watt  and  Boulton,  about  which  he  was  so  anxious  to  know,  were 
to  be  found  described  in  books,  and  that  he  must  satisfy  his 
curiosity  by  searching  the  publications  of  the  day  for  a  more 
complete  description  of  them.  But,  alas !  Stephenson  could  not 
read ;  he  had  not  yet  learnt  even  his  letters. 

Thus  he  shortly  found,  when  gazing  wistfully  in  the  direction 

of  knowledge,  that  to  advance  further  as  a  skilled  workman,  he 

must  master  this  wonderful  art  of  reading — the  key  to  so  many 

other  arts.    He  would  thus  be  enabled  to  gain  an  access  to  books, 
9 


18  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

the  depositories  of  the  experience  and  wisdom  of  all  times. 
Although  now  a  grown  man,  and  doing  the  work  of  a  man,  he 
was  not  ashamed  to  confess  his  ignorance  and  go  to  school,  big 
as  he  was,  to  learn  his  letters.  Perhaps,  too,  he  foresaw  that  in 
laying  out  a  little  of  his  spare  earnings  for  this  purpose,  he  was 
investing  money  judiciously,  and  that  every  hour  he  spent  at 
school,  he  was  really  working  for  better  wages.  At  all  events, 
he  detei'mined  to  make  a  beginning — a  small  beginning,  it  is  true, 
but  still  a  right  one,  and  a  pledge  and  assurance  that  he  was  in 
earnest  in  the  work  of  self-culture.  He  desired  to  find  a  road 
into  knowledge  ;  and  no  man  can  sincerely  desire  this  but  he  will 
eventually  succeed.  He  possessed  that  will  and  purpose  which 
are  the  invariable  forerunners  of  success. 

His  first  schoolmaster  was  Robin  Cowens,  a  poor  teacher  in 
the  village  of  Walbottle.  He  kept  a  night-school,  which  was 
attended  by  a  few  of  the  colliers  and  laborers'  sons  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. George  took  lessons  in  spelling  and  reading  three 
nights  in  the  week.  Tommy  Musgrove,  the  lad  who  "sled  out" 
the  engine  at  the  Water-row  Pit,  usually  went  with  him  to  the 
evening  lesson.  This  teaching  of  Robin  Cowens  cost  three-pence 
a  week ;  and  though  it  was  not  very  good,  yet  George,  being 
hungry  for  knowledge,  and  eager  to  acquire  it,  soon  learnt  to 
read.  He  also  practiced  "  pot-hooks,"  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
he  was  proud  to  be  able  to  write  his  own  name. 

A  Scotch  dominie,  named  Andrew  Robertson,  set  up  a  night 
school  in  the  village  of  Newbuni,  in  the  winter  of  1799.  It  was 
more  convenient  for  George  Stephenson  to  attend  this  school, 
as  it  was  nearer  to  his  work,  and  not  more  than  a  few  minutes' 
walk  from  Jolly's  Close.  Besides,  Andrew  had  the  reputation 
o&Jbeine:  a  skilled  arithmetician ;  and  this  was  a  branch  of  knowl- 
edge  that  Stephenson  was  now  desirous  of  acquiring.  He  accord- 
ingly began  taking  lessons  from  him,  paying  four  jience  a  week. 
Andrew  Gray,  the  junior  fireman  at  the  Water-row  Pit,  began 
aritlimetic  at  the  same  time ;  and  he  has  since  told  the  writer, 


LEARNS    READING    AND    ARITHMETIC.  19 

that  George  learnt  "  figuring "  so  much  faster  than  he  did,  that 
he  could  not  make  out  how  it  was  —  "■  he  took  to  figures  so  won- 
derful." Although  the  two  started  together  from  the  same  point, 
at  the  end  of  the  winter  George  had  mastered  "  reduction,"  while 
Andrew  Gray  was  still  grappling  with  the  difficulties  of  simple 
division.  But  George's  secret  was  his  perseverance.  He  worked 
out  the  sums  in  his  by -hours,  improving  every  minute  of  his  spare 
time  by  the  engine  fire,  there  solving  the  arithmetical  problems 
set  for  him  upon  his  slate  by  his  master.  Li  the  evenings,  he 
took  to  Andi'ew  Eobertson  the  sums  which  he  had  thus  "worked," 
and  new  ones  were  "  set "  for  him  to  study  out  the  following  day. 
Thus  his  progress  was  rapid,  and,  with  a  willing  heart  and  mind, 
he  soon  became  well  advanced  in  arithmetic.  Indeed,  Andrew 
Robertson  became  somewhat  proud  of  his  pupil;  and  shortly 
afterwards,  when  the  Water-row  Pit  was  closed,  and  George 
removed  to  Black  Callerton  to  work  there,  the  poor  schoolmaster, 
not  having  a  very  extensive  connection  in  Newburn,  went  with 
his  pupils,  and  set  up  his  night  school  at  Black  Callerton,  where 
they  continued  their  instructions  under  him  as  before. 

George  still  found  time  to  attend  to  his  favorite  animals  while 
working  at  the  Water-row  Pit.  He  kept  up  his  breed  of  rabbits, 
and  even  drove  a  small  trade  in  them,  selling  portions  of  his  stock 
from  time  to  time.  Like  his  father,  he  used  to  tempt  the  robin- 
redbreast  to  hop  and  fly  about  him  at  the  engine  fire,  by  the  bait 
of  bread-crumbs  saved  from  his  dinner.  But  his  favorite  animal 
was  liis  dog  —  so  sagacious  that  he  performed  the  office  of  a  ser- 
vant, in  almost  daily  carrying  his  dinner  to  him  at  the  pit.  The 
tin  containing  the  meal  was  suspended  from  the  dog's  neck ;  and 
thus  laden  he  proudly  walked  the  road  from  Jolly's  Close  to 
Water-row  Pit,  quite  through  the  village  of  Newburn.  He 
turned  neither  to  the  left  nor  right,  nor  minded  for  the  time  the 
barking  of  curs  at  his  heels.  But  his  course  was  not  unattended 
with  perils.  One  day  the  big  strange  dog  of  a  passing  butcher 
espied  the  engine-man's  messenger,  ran  after  him,  and  fell  ujDon 


20  LIFE  OF  GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

him  with  the  tin  can  about  his  neck.  There  was  a  terrible  tussle 
and  worrying  between  the  dogs,  which  lasted  for  a  brief  while, 
and  shortly  after,  the  dog's  master,  anxious  for  his  dinner,  saw  his 
faithful  servant  approaching,  bleeding  but  triumphant.  The  tin 
can  was  still  round  his  neck,  but  the  dinner  had  escaped  in  the 
struggle.  Though  George  went  without  his  dinner  that  day,  yet 
when  the  circumstances  of  the  combat  were  related  to  him  by  the 
villagers  who  had  seen  it,  he  was  prouder  of  his  dog  than  ever. 
It  was  while  working  at  the  Water-row  Pit  that  Stephenson 
first  learnt  the  art  of  braking  an  engine.  This  being  one  of  the 
higher  departments  of  colliery  labor,  and  amongst  the  best  paid, 
George  was  very  anxious  to  learn  it.  A  small  winding  engine 
having  been  put  up  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  the  coals  from  the 
pit.  Bill  Coe,  his  friend  and  fellow-workman,  was  appointed  the 
brakesman.  He  frequently  allowed  George  to  try  his  hand  at 
the  brake,  and  instructed  liim  how  to  proceed.  But  in  this  course 
Coe  was  opposed  by  several  of  the  other  workmen — one  of  whom, 
a  brakesman  named  William  Locke,*  went  so  far  as  to  stop  the 
working  of  the  pit  because  Stephenson  had  been  called  in  to  the 
brake.  But  one  day  as  Mr.  Charles  Nixon,  the  manager  of  the 
pit,  was  observed  approaching,  Coe  adopted  an  experiment  which 
had  the  effect  of  putting  a  stop  to  the  opposition.  He  forthwith 
called  upon  George  Stephenson  to  "  come  into  the  brake-house, 
and  take  hold  of  the  machine."  No  sooner  had  he  done  this, 
than  Locke,  as  usual,  sat  down,  and  the  working  of  the  pit  was 
stopped.  "  What's  the  meaning  of  this  ?"  asked  Mr.  Nixon ; 
"  what's  wrong  that  the  pit  is  standing  ?"  Coe's  answer  was  that 
Locke  had  refused  to  take  the  corf.  "  And  why  ?"  asked  Nixon. 
"  Because  Locke  objects  to  my  learning  George  there  (pointing 
to  Stephenson)  to  bralce."  Locke,  when  requested  to  give  an 
explanation,  said  that  "  young  Stephenson  couldn't  brake,  and, 
what  was  more,  never  would  learn  to  brake :  he  was  so  clumsy 

*  He  afterwards  romoTcd  to  Bamsley  in  Yorkshire ;  iio  was  the  father  of  Mr.  Locke, 
the  celebrated  engineer. 


LEARNS    ENGINE-BRAKING.  21 

that  he  was  like  to  rive  his  arms  off."  Mr.  Nixon,  however, 
ordered  Locke  to  go  on  with  the  work,  which  he  did ;  and  Ste- 
phenson, after  some  further  practice,  acquired  the  art  of  braking. 
After  working  at  the  "Water-row  Pit,  and  in  tlie  neighborhood 
of  Newburn,  for  about  three  years,  George,  with  liis  companion 
Coe,  was  removed  to  Black  Callerton  Collier j,  in  the  year  1801. 
The  pit  there  belonged  to  the  same  masters,  Nixon  and  Cram- 
Ungton,  and  George  was  regulaily  appointed  brakesman  at  the 
DoUy  Pit. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


BRAKESMAN  AT  BLACK  CALLERTO\. 


George  Stephenson  was  now  a  young  man  of  twenty  years 
of  age — a  well  knit,  healthy  fellow — a  sober,  steady,  and  expert 
workman.  Beyond  this,  and  his  diligence  and  perseverance,  and 
the  occasional  odd  turns  which  his  curiosity  took,  there  was  noth- 
ing remarkable  about  him.  He  was  no  precocious  genius.  As 
yet  he  was  comparatively  untaught,  and  had  but  mastered  the 
mere  beginnings  of  knowledge.  But  his  observant  faculties  were 
active,  and  he  diligently  turned  to  profitable  account  every  oppor- 
tunity of  exercising  them.  He  had  still  only  the  tastes  and  am- 
bitions of  an  ordinary  workman,  and  perhaps  looked  not  beyond 
that  condition. 

His  duties  as  a  brakesman  may  be  briefly  described.  The 
work  was  somewhat  monotonous,  and  consisted  in  superintending 
the  working  of  the  engine  and  machinery  by  means  of  which  the 
coals  were  drawn  out  of  the  pit.  Brakesmen  are  almost  invari- 
ably selected  from  those  who  have  had  considerable  experience 
as  engine  firemen,  and  borne  a  good  character  for  steadiness, 
punctuality,  watchfulness,  and  "  mother  wit,"  In  George  Ste- 
phenson's day,  the  coals  were  drawn  out  of  the  pit  in  corves,  or 
large  baskets  made  of  hazel  rods.  The  corves  were  placed  two 
together  in  a  cage,  between  which  and  the  pit  ropes  there  was 
usually  from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  of  chain.     The  approach  of 

(22) 


ExMPLOYMENT    OF    NIGIIT    HOURS.  23 

the  corves  towards  the  pit  mouth  was  signaled  by  a  bell,  brought 
into  action  by  a  piece  of  mechanism  worked  from  the  shall  of 
the  engine.  AVhen  the  bell  sounded,  the  brakesman  checked  the 
speed,  by  taking  hold  of  the  hand-gear  connected  with  the  steam 
valves,  which  were  so  arranged  that  by  their  means  he  could  reg- 
ulate the  speed  of  the  engine,  and  stop  or  set  it  in  motion  when 
required.  Connected  with  the  fly-wheel  was  a  powerful  wooden 
brake,  acting  by  pressure  against  its  rim,  something  like  the  brake 
of  a  railway  carriage  against  its  wheels,  and  the  brakesman  was 
enabled,  by  applying  his  foot  to  a  foot-step  near  him,  on  catching 
sight  of  the  chain  attached  to  the  ascending  corve  cage,  at  once, 
and  with  great  precision,  to  stop  its  revolutions,  and  arrest  the 
ascent  of  the  corves  at  the  pit  mouth,  when  they  were  foilhwith 
landed  on  the  "  settle  board."  On  the  full  corves  being  replaced 
by  empty  ones,  it  was  then  the  duty  of  the  brakesman  to  reverse 
the  engine,  and  send  the  corves  down  the  pit  to  be  filled  again. 

The  monotony  of  George  Stephenson's  occupation  as  a  brakes- 
man was  somewhat  varied  by  the  change  which  he  made,  in  his 
turn,  from  the  day  to  the  night  shift.  This  duty,  during  the  lat- 
ter stage,  chiefly  consisted  in  sending  the  men  and  materials  into 
the  mine,  and  in  drawing  other  men  and  materials  out.  Most  of 
the  workmen  enter  the  pit  during  the  night  shift,  and  leave  it  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  day,  whilst  coal-drawing  is  proceeding.  The 
requirements  of  the  work  at  night  are  such,  that  the  brakesman 
has  a  good  deal  of  spare  time  on  his  hands,  which  he  is  at  liberty 
to  employ  in  his  own  way.  From  an  early  period,  Stephenson 
was  accuptomed  to  employ  those  vacant  night  hours  in  working 
the  sums  set  for  him  by  Andrew  Robertson  upon  his  slate,  in 
practicing  wi'iting  in  his  copy-book,  and  also  in  mending  the  shoes 
of  his  fellow-workmen.  His  wages  while  working  at  the  Dolly 
Pit  amounted  to  from  11.  15s.  to  21.  in  the  fortnight;*  but  he 

*  William  Coe  has  furnished  me  with  an  abstract  of  the  wages  book  of  Black  Callerton, 
from  which  it  appears  that  George  Stephenson's  earnings  for  the  fortnight  were  as  follows  : 
On  June  18th,  ISOl,  he  was  paid  11. 195.  id.,  and  a  ticket  for  two  shillings  worth  of  rye  ; 


24  LIFE  OF    GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

gradually  added  to  them  as  he  became  more  expert  at  shoe-mend- 
ing, and  afterwards  at  shoemaking.  Probably  he  was  stimulated 
to  take  in  hand  this  extra  work,  by  the  attachment  which  he  had 
at  this  time  formed  for  a  respectable  young  woman  of  the  village, 
named  Fanny  Henderson.  Fanny  was  a  servant  in  a  neighbor- 
ing farm  house ;  and  George,  having  found  her  a  high  principled 
young  woman  of  excellent  character,  courted  her  with  the  inten- 
tion of  making  her  his  wife  and  setting  up  in  a  house  of  his  own. 
The  {personal  attractions  of  P'anny  Henderson,  though  these  were 
considerable,  were  the  least  of  her  charms.  Her  temper  was  of 
the  sweetest ;  and  those  who  knew  her  speak  of  the  charming 
modesty  of  her  demeanor,  her  kindness  of  disposition,  and  withal 
her  sound  good  sense. 

Amongst  his  various  mendings  of  old  shoes  at  Callerton, 
George  Stephenson  was  on  one  occasion  favored  with  the  shoes 
of  his  sweetheart,  Fanny  Henderson,  to  sole.  One  can  imagine 
the  pleasure  with  which  he  would  linger  over  such  a  piece  of 
work,  and  the  pride  with  wliich  he  would  execute  it.  A  friend 
of  his,  still  living,  relates  that,  after  he  had  finished  the  shoes,  he 
carried  them  about  with  him  in  his  pocket  on  the  Sunday  after- 
noon, and  that  from  time  to  time  he  would  whip  them  out  and 
hold  them  up  to  sight — the  tiny  little  shoes  that  they  were — ex- 
hibiting them  with  exultation  to  his  friend,  and  exclaiming,  "  what 
a  capital  job  he  had  made  of  them!"  Other  lovers  have  carried 
about  with  them  a  lock  of  their  fair  one's  hair,  a  glove,  or  a 
handkerchief;  but  none  could  have  been  prouder  of  their  cher- 
ished love-token  than  was  George  Stephenson  of  his  Fanny's 
shoes,  which  he  had  just  soled,  and  of  which  he  had  made  such 
a  "  capital  job." 

Out  of  his  earnings  from  shoe-mending  at  Callerton,  George 
contrived  to  save  his  first  guinea.     The  first  guinea  saved  by  a 

on  June  17th,  1802,  he  was  paid  1/.  15.«.  But  bread  was  so  dear  in  those  days,  that  the 
wages  paid  to  workmen  were  not  real!}-  so  high  as  they  appear :  in  1801,  wheat  was  selling 
at  tl.  18s.  Sd.,  and  rye  at  31.  19s.  9rf.  the  quarter.  • 


AN    EXAMPLE    TO    OTHER    WORKMEN.  25 

working  man  is  no  trivial  thing.  If,  as  in  Stephenson's  ease,  it 
has  been  the  result  of  prudent  self-denial,  of  extra  labor  at  by- 
hours,  and  of  sound  resolutions  to  save  and  economize  for  worthy 
purposes,  the  first  guinea  saved  is  an  earnest  of  better  things. 
It  is  a  nest-egg — a  token  of  increase — the  beginning,  it  may  be, 
of  prosperity  and  wealth.  When  Steplienson  had  saved  this 
guinea,  he  was  somewhat  proud  of  the  achievement,  and  express- 
ed the  opinion  to  a  friend,  who  many  years  after  reminded  him. 
of  it,  that  he  was  "  now  a  rich  man." 

At  Callerton,  Stephenson — habitually  sober  and  steady — was 
a  standing  example  of  character  to  the  other  workmen.  He 
never  missed  a  day's  wages  by  being  off  work  in  consequence  of 
a  drinking-bout,  as  many  others  did.  William  Coe  says  of  him, 
that,  though  he  knew  Stephenson  intimately,  he  never  saw  him 
"  the  worse  for  drink  "  in  his  life.  On  pay  Saturday  afternoons, 
when  the  workmen  at  the  pit  kept  their  fortnightly  holiday,  some 
spending  their  afternoon  and  evening  in  the  public  house,  and 
others  in  the  adjoining  fields,  cock-fighting  and  dog-fighting,  Ste- 
phenson, instead  of  either  drinking  or  playing,  used  to  take  his 
engine  to  pieces  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  "insight"  and  prac- 
tical acquaintance  with  its  details ;  and  he  invariably  cleaned  all 
the  parts  and  put  the  machine  in  thorougli  working  order  before 
leaving  her.  Thus  his  engine  was  always  clean  and  in  excellent 
condition,  and  his  knowledge  of  its  powers  and  its  mechanism 
became  almost  complete. 

In  the  winter  evenings  Stephenson  proceeded  with  his  lessons 
in  arithmetic  under  Andrew  Robertson.  But  Robertson  had 
soon  taught  his  pupil  all  that  he  himself  knew,  which  probably 
did  not  amount  to  much.  He  even  admitted  that  he  could  carry 
Stephenson  no  further  in  arithmetic,  the  pupil  having  outstripped 
the  master.  He  went  on,  however,  with  his  writing  lessons ; 
and  by  the  year  following,  when  he  signed  his  name  in  the  par- 
ish registry  of  Newburu,  on  the  occasion  of  his  marriage  to 


26  LIFE  or   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

Fanny  Henderson,  he  was  able  to  write  a  good,  legible  round 
hand. 

Not  long  after  he  began  to  work  at  Black  Callerton  as  brakes- 
man, he  had  a  quarrel  with  a  pitman  named  Ned  Nelson,  a 
roistering  bully,  who  was  the  terror  of  the  village.  Nelson  was 
a  gi'oat  fighter ;  and  it  was  therefore  considered  dangerous  to 
quarrel  with  him.  Stephenson  was  so  unfortunate  as  not  to  be 
able  to  please  this  pitman  by  the  way  in  which,  as  brakesman, 
he  drew  him  out  of  the  pit ;  and  Nelson  swore  at  him  grossly 
because  of  his  alleged  clumsiness.  George  defended  himself,  and 
appealed  to  the  testimony  of  the  other  workmen  as  to  his  brak- 
ing. But  Nelson  had  not  been  accustomed  to  George's  style  of 
self-assertion ;  and  after  a  great  deal  of  abuse,  he  threatened  to 
kick  the  brakesman,  who  defied  him  to  do  so.  Nelson  ended  by 
challenging  Stephenson  to  a  pitched  battle ;  and  the  latter 
accepted  the  challenge,  when  a  day  was  fixed  on  which  the  fight 
was  to  come  off. 

Great  was  the  excitement  at  Black  Callerton  when  it  was 
known  that  George  Stephenson  had  accepted  Nelson's  challenge. 
Everybody  said  that  he  would  be  killed.  The  villagers  —  the 
young  men,  and  especially  the  boys  of  the  place,  with  whom 
George  was  an  especial  favorite — all  wished  that  he  might  beat 
Nelson,  but  they  scarcely  dared  to  say  so.  They  came  about 
hira  while  he  was  to  work  in  the  engine-house,  to  inquire  if  it 
was  really  true  that  he  was  "goin'  to  feight  Nelson?"  "Ay; 
never  fear  for  me ;  Til  feight  him."  And  "feight"  him  he  did. 
For  some  days  previous  to  the  appointed  day  of  battle.  Nelson 
went  entirely  off  work  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  himself  fresh 
and  strong,  whereas  Stephenson  went  on  doing  his  daily  work, 
as  usual,  and  appeared  not  in  the  least  disconcerted  by  the  pros- 
pect of  the  affair.  So,  on  the  evening  appointed,  after  George 
had  done  his  day's  labor,  he  Avent  into  the  Dolly  Pit  field,  where 
his  already  exulting  rival  was  ready  to  meet  him.  George 
stripped,  and  "went  in"  like  a  practiced  pugilist — though  it  was 


HIS    COURAGE.  2T 

his  first  and  last  fight.  After  a  few  rounds,  George's  wiry 
muscles  and  practiced  strength  enabled  him  severely  to  punish 
his  adversary,  and  to  secure  for  himself  an  easy  victory. 

This  circumstance  is  related  in  illustration  of  Stephenson's 
personal  pluck  and  courage  ;  and  it  was  thoroughly  characteristic 
of  the  man.  He  was  no  pugilist,  and  the  very  reverse  of  quarrel- 
some. But  he  would  not  be  put  down  by  the  bully  of  the  col- 
liery, and  he  fought  him.  There  his  pugilism  ended;  they 
afterwards  shook  hands,  and  continued  good  friends.  In  after 
life,  Stephenson's  mettle  was  often  as  hardly  tried,  though  in  a 
different  way ;  and  he  did  not  fail  to  exhibit  the  same  resolute 
courage,  in  contending  with  the  bullies  of  the  railway  world,  as 
he  had  thus  early  sho^vn  in  his  encounter  with  Ned  Nelson  the 
fighting  pitman  of  Black  Callerton. 


CHAPTER    V. 

MARRIAGE  AND  HOUSEKEEPING  AT  WILLINGTON  QUAY. 

By  dint  of  thrift,  sobriety  and  industry,  George  Stephenson 
managed  to  save  as  much  money  at  Black  Callerton  as  enabled 
him,  on  leaving  it  for  AYillington  Ballast  Quay,  to  take  a  house 
and  furnish  it  in  a  very  humble  style,  for  the  reception  of  his 
young  bride,  Fanny  Henderson. 

Willington  Quay,  whither  Stephenson  now  Avent  to  act  as 
brakesman  at  the  Ballast  Hill,  lies  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Tyne,  about  six  miles  below  Newcastle.  It  consists  of  a  line  of 
houses  straggling  along  the  river  side ;  and  high  behind  it  towers 
up  the  huge  mound  of  ballast  emptied  out  of  the  ships  which 
resort  to  the  quay  for  their  cargoes  of  coal  for  the  London  mar- 
ket. The  ballast  is  thrown  out  of  the  ship's  hold  into  wagons 
laid  alongside.  When  filled,  a  train  of  these  is  dragged  up  the 
steep  incline  which  leads  to  the  summit  of  the  Ballast  Hill,  where 
the  wagons  are  run  out  and  their  contents  emptied  to  swell  the 
monstrous  accumulation  of  earth,  chalk  and  Thames  mud  already 
laid  there,  probably  to  form  a  puzzle  for  future  antiquaries  and 
geologists,  when  the  origin  of  these  immense  hills  along  the  Tyne 
has  been  forgotten.  On  the  summit  of  the  Willington  Ballast 
Hill  was  a  fixed  engine,  which  drew  the  trains  of  laden  wagons 
up  the  incline ;  and  of  this  engine  George  Stephenson  now  acted 
as  brakesman. 

(28) 


HIS   MARRIAGE.  29 

The  cottage  ia  which  he  took  up  his  abode  is  a  small  two- 
storied  dwelling,  standing  a  little  back  from  the  quay,  witli  a  bit 
of  garden  ground  in  front.  The  Stephenson  family  occupied  the 
upper  room  in  the  west  end  of  the  cottage.  Close  behind  rises 
the  Ballast  Hill. 

When  the  cottage  dwelling  had  been  made  snug,  and  prepared 
for  the  young  wife's  reception,  the  marriage  took  place.  It  was 
celebrated  in  Newburn  Church,  on  the  28th  of  November,  1802. 

George  Stephenson's  signature,  as  it  stands  in  tlie  books,  is 
that  of  a  person  who  seems  to  have  just  learned  to  write.  Yet  it 
is  the  signature  of  a  man,  written  slowly  and  deliberately,  in 
strong  round  hand.  "With  all  this  care,  however,  he  had  not 
been  able  to  avoid  a  blotch;  the  word  "Stephenson"  has  been 
brushed  over  before  the  ink  was  dry. 

After  the  ceremony,  George  and  his  newly  wedded  wife  pro- 
ceeded to  the  house  of  old  Robert  Stephenson  and  his  wife  Mabel, 
at  Jolly's  Close.  The  old  man  was  now  becoming  infirm,  though 
he  still  worked  as  an  engine  fireman,  and  contrived  with  ditficulty 
"to  keep  his  head  above  water."  When  the  visit  had  been  paid, 
the  bridal  party  prepared  to  set  out  for  their  new  home  at  Wil- 
Ungton  Quay.  They  went  in  a  homely  old-fashioned  style, 
though  one  quite  usual  in  those  days,  before  macadamized  roads 
had  been  adopted,  or  traveling  by  railway  so  much  as  dreamt  of. 
Two  stout  farm  horses  were  borrowed  from  JMr.  Burn,  of  the 
Eed  House  farm,  Wolsingham,  where  Anne  Henderson,  the 
bride's  sister,  lived  as  servant.  The  two  horses  were  each  pro- 
vided with  a  saddle  and  a  pillion ;  and  George  having  mounted 
one,  his  wife  seated  herself  on  the  pillion  behind  him,  holding  on 
by  her  arms  round  his  waist.  Robert  Gray  and  Anne  Hender- 
son in  like  manner  mounted  the  other  horse ;  and  in  this  wise 
the  wedding  party  rode  across  the  country,  passing  through  the 
old  streets  of  Newcastle,  and  then  by  Wallsend  to  their  home  at 
Willington  Quay — a  long  ride  of  about  fifteen  miles. 

We  may  here  mention  that  ]\Ii".  Burn,  the  farmer  at  Wolsing- 


30  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

ham,  shortly  after  married  Anne  Henderson ;  and  a  good  wife 
she  proved.  In  those  times  the  farmer  and  his  senant  did  not 
stand  so  far  apart,  in  point  of  social  position,  as  they  do  now. 
Household  servants  were  themselves  generally  the  daughters  of 
small  farmers,  and  there  was  no  great  condescension  in  the 
master  taking  to  wife  one  who  had  proved  herself  a  clever  and 
thrifty  housekeeper.  Paterson,  the  small  farmer  of  Black  Cal- 
lerton,  with  whom  George  Stephenson  had  lodged  while  working 
at  the  Dolly  Pit,  in  like  manner  married  another  sister,  Betty ; 
and  she  too,  like  her  sisters,  proved  a  valuable  and  worthy 
helpmate. 

George  Stephenson's  daily  life  at  Willington  was  that  of  a 
regular,  steady  workman.  By  the  manner,  however,  in  which 
he  continued  to  improve  his  spare  hours  in  the  evening,  he  was 
silently  and  surely  pa\Tng  the  way  for  being  sometliing  more 
than  a  mere  workman.  While  other  men  of  his  class  were  idling 
in  public-houses,  he  set  himself  down  to  study  the  principles  of 
mechanics,  and  to  master  the  laws  by  which  his  engine  worked. 
For  a  workman,  he  was  even  at  that  time  more  than  ordinarily 
speculative  —  often  taking  up  strange  theories,  and  trying  to  sift 
out  the  truth  that  was  in  them.  While  sitting  by  the  side  of  his 
young  wife  in  his  cottage  dwelling,  in  the  winter  evenings,  he 
was  usually  occupied  in  making  mechanical  experiments,  or  in 
modeling  experimental  machines.  Amongst  his  various  specula^ 
tions  while  at  Willington,  he  occupied  himself  a  good  deal  in 
endeavoring  to  discover  perpetual  motion.  Although  he  failed, 
as  so  many  others  had  done  before  him,  the  very  efforts  he  made 
tended  to  whet  his  inventive  faculties,  and  to  call  forth  his  dor- 
mant powers.  He  actually  went  so  far  as  to  construct  the  model 
of  a  machine  by  which  he  thought  he  would  secure  perpetual 
motion.  It  consisted  of  a  wooden  wheel,  the  periphery  of  which 
was  furnished  with  glass  tubes  filled  with  quicksilver;  as  the 
wheel  rotated,  the  quicksilver  poured  itself  down  into  the  lower 
tubes,  and  thus  a  sort  of  self-acting  motion  was  kept  up  in  the 


MAKING    SHOES    AND    SHOE-LASTS.  31 

apparatus,  which,  however,  did  not  prove  to  be  perpetual. 
Where  he  had  first  obtained  the  idea  of  this  machine — whether 
from  conversation,  or  reading,  or  his  own  thoughts,  is  not  now 
remembered ;  but  possibly  he  may  have  heai-d  of  an  apparatus 
of  a  similar  kind  which  is  described  in  the  "History  of  Inren- 
tions."  As  he  had  then  no  access  to  books,  and  indeed  could 
barely  read  with  ease,  it  is  possible  that  he  may  have  been  told 
of  the  invention,  and  then  set  about  testing  its  value  according  to 
his  own  methods. 

Much  of  his  spare  time  continued  to  be  occupied  by  labor  more 
immediately  profitable,  regarded  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view. 
From  mending  shoes  he  proceeded  to  making  them,  and  he  also 
drove  a  good  trade  in  making  shoe-lasts,  in  which  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  be  very  expert.  William  Coe,  who  continued  to  live 
at  Willington  in  1851,  informed  the  writer  that  he  bought  a  pair 
of  shoes  from  George  Stephenson  for  7s.  Gd.,  and  he  remembered 
that  they  were  a  capital  fit,  and  wore  well.  But  an  accident 
occurred  in  his  household  about  this  time,  which  had  the  effect 
of  directing  his  industry  into  a  new  and  still  more  profitable 
channel.  The  cottage  chimney  took  fire  one  day  in  his  absence ; 
the  alarmed  neighbors  rushuig  in,  threw  bucket  sfull  of  Avater 
upon  the  fire ;  some  in  their  zeal  mounted  on  the  ridge  of  the 
house  and  poured  volumes  of  water  down  the  chimney.  The  fire 
was  soon  put  out,  but  the  house  was  thoroughly  soaked.  When 
George  came  home  he  found  the  water  running  out  of  the  door, 
everything  in  disorder,  and  his  new  fui-niture  covered  with  soot. 
The  eight-day  clock,  which  hung  against  the  wall — one  of  the 
most  highly  prized  articles  in  the  house — was  grievously  injured 
by  the  steam  with  which  the  room  had  been  filled.  Its  wheels 
were  so  clogged  by  the  dust  and  soot,  that  it  was  brought  to  a 
complete  stand-still.  George  was  always  ready  to  turn  his  hand 
to  anything,  and  his  ingenuity  never  at  fault,  immediately  set  to 
work  for  the  repair  of  the  unfortunate  clock.  He  was  advised 
to  send  it  to  the  clockmaker,  but  that  would  have  cost  money ; 


32  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

and  he  declared  that  he  would  repair  it  himself — at  least  he 
would  try.  The  clock  was  accoi'dingly  taken  to  pieces  and 
cleaned ;  the  tools  which  he  had  been  accumulating  by  him  for 
the  purpose  of  constructing  the  perpetual  motion  machine,  enabled 
him  to  do  this ;  and  he  succeeded  so  well  that,  sliortly  after,  the 
neighbors  sent  him  their  clocks  to  clean,  and  he  soon  became  one 
of  the  most  famous  clock-doctors  in  the  neighborhood. 

It  was  Avhile  living  at  Willington  Quay  that  George  Stephen- 
son's only  son  Robert  was  born,  on  the  16th  of  December,  1803. 
The  child  was  fi'om  his  earliest  years  familiarized  with  the  steady 
industry  of  his  parents ;  for  there  were  few,  if  any,  idle  moments 
spent  in  that  cottage.  "Wlien  his  father  was  not  busy  in  making 
or  mending  shoes,  cutting  out  shoe-lasts,  or  cleaning  clocks,  he 
was  occupied  with  some  drawing  or  model,  in  constructing  which 
he  sought  to  improve  himself.  The  child  was  from  the  first,  as 
may  well  be  imagined,  a  great  favorite  with  his  father,  whose 
evening  hours  were  made  happier  by  his  presence.  George 
Stephenson's  strong  "philoprogenitiveness,"  as  phrenologists  call 
it,  had  in  his  boyhood  expended  itself  on  birds,  and  dogs,  and 
rabbits,  and  even  on  the  poor  old  gin-horses  which  he  had  driven 
at  the  Callerton  Pit;  and  now  he  found  in  his  child  a  more 
genial  object  on  which  to  expend  the  warmth  of  his  affection. 

The  christening  of  the  child  took  place  in  the  school-house  at 
Wallsend,  the  old  parish  church  being  at  the  time  in  so  dilap- 
idated a  condition  from  the  "creepmg"*  of  the  ground  under- 
neath, consequent  upon  the  excavation  of  the  coal,  that  it  was 
considered  dangerous  to  enter  it.  On  this  occasion,  Robert  Gray 
and  Anne  Henderson,  who  had  officiated  as  bridesman  and  brides- 
maid at  the  wedding,  came  over  again  to  Willington,  and  stood  as 

*  The  congregation  in  a  church  near  Newcastle  were  one  Sunday  morning  plentifully 
powdered  with  chips  from  the  white  ceiling  of  the  church,  which  had  been  crept  under, 
being  above  an  old  mine.  "  It's  only  the  pit  a-creeping,"  said  the  parish  clerk,  by  way 
of  encouragement  to  the  people  to  remain.  But  it  would  not  do  ;  for  there  was  a  sudden 
creep  out  of  the  congregation.  The  clerk  went  at  last,  with  a  powdered  head,  crying  out, 
"  It's  only  a  creep." — Our  Coal  Fidds  and  our  Coal  Pics. 


LEAVES    HIS    SITUATION.  33 

godfathei  and  godmother  to  little  Robert,  as  the  child  was  named, 
after  his  grandfather. 

After  working  for  about  three  years  as  a  brakesman  at  the 
Willington  machine,  George  Stephenson  was  induced  to  leave 
his  situation  there  for  a  similar  one  at  the  "West  Moor  Colliery, 
Killingworth.  It  was  while  residing  at  KilHngworth  that  his 
remarkable  practical  qualities  as  a  workman  were  first  recog- 
nized by  his  employers,  and  that  he  slowly  but  surely  acquired 
that  reputation  as  an  Engineer  and  Inventor  by  which  he  after- 
wards became  so  extensively  known  and  honored. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

BRAKESMAN   AT   WEST  MOOR,   KILLINGWORTH. 

The  village  of  Killingworth  lies  about  seven  miles  north  of 
Newcastle,  and  is  one  of  the  best  known  collieries  in  that  neigh- 
borhood. The  workings  of  the  coal  are  of  vast  extent,  giving 
employment  to  a  large  number  of  work-people.  The  colliery 
stands  high  and  commands  an  extensive  view  of  the  adjacent 
country ;  it  overlooks  the  valley  of  the  Tyne  on  the  south,  and 
the  pinnacles  of  the  Newcastle  spires  may  be  discerned  in  the 
distance,  when  not  obscured  by  the  clouds  of  smoke  which  rise 
up  from  that  vast  hive  of  manufacturing  industry. 

To  this  place  George  Stephenson  first  came  as  a  brakesman  in 
the  year  1804.  He  had  scarcely  settled  down  in  his  new  home, 
ere  he  sustained  a  heavy  loss  in  the  death  of  his  wife,  for  whom 
he  cherished  the  sincerest  affection.  Their  married  life  had  been 
happy,  sweetened  as  it  was  by  daily  successful  toil.  The  hus- 
band was  sober  and  hard-working,  and  his  young  wife  made  his 
hearth  so  bright  and  his  home  so  snug,  that  no  attraction  could 
draw  him  from  her  side  in  the  evening  hours.  But  this  domestic 
happiness  was  all  to  pass  away ;  and  the  twinkling  feet,  for  which 
the  lover  had  made  those  tiny  shoes  at  Callerton,  were  now  to  be 
hidden  for  evermore  from  his  eyes.  It  was  a  terrible  blow,  but 
he  bore  it  as  he  best  could.  There  was  work  before  him  to  do 
— work,  which  Stephenson,  like  many  more,  found  to  be  a  balm 

(34) 


JOURNEY    TO    SCOTLAND.  35 

for  even  the  heaviest  sorrow.  But  he  long  lamented  his  bereave- 
ment, and  continued  tenderly  to  cherish  his  dear  wife's  memory. 

Shortly  after  this  event,  while  his  grief  was  still  fresh,  he 
received  an  invitation  from  some  gentlemen  concerned  in  large 
works  near  Montrose,  in  Scotland,  to  proceed  thither  and  super- 
intend the  working  of  one  of  Boulton  and  Watt's  engines.  He 
accepted  the  offer,  and  made  arrangements  to  leave  Killingworth 
for  a  time. 

Having  left  his  boy  in  charge  of  a  worthy  neighbor,  he  set  out 
upon  his  long  journey  to  Scotland,  on  foot,  with  his  kit  upon  his 
back.  While  in  Scotland,  he  was  paid  good  wages,  and  contrived 
to  save  281.,  which  he  brought  back  to  Killingworth  with  him, 
after  an  absence  of  about  a  year.  His  friend  Coe  states  that 
while  in  the  North,  George  Stephenson  had  tried  to  make  some 
alterations  in  the  engine  which  he  worked,  but  without  success, 
and  that  this  led  to  a  disagreement  between  him  and  the  colliery 
owners.  Longing  to  get  back  to  his  own  kindred — his  heart 
yeai-ning  for  the  son  he  had  left  behind,  Stephenson  took  leave 
of  his  IMontrose  employers,  and  trudged  back  to  Killingworth  on 
foot,  as  he  had  gone.  He  related  to  his  friend,  on  his  return,  that 
when  on  the  borders  of  Northumberland,  late  one  evening,  foot- 
sore and  wearied  with  his  long  day's  journey,  he  knocked  at  a 
small  farmer's  cottage  door,  and  requested  shelter  for  the  night. 
It  was  refused,  and  then  he  entreated  that,  being  sore,  tired,  and 
unable  to  proceed  any  further,  they  would  permit  him  to  lie  down 
in  the  outhouse,  for  that  a  little  clean  straw  would  serve  him.  The 
farmer's  wife  appeared  at  the  door,  looked  at  the  traveler,  then 
retiring  with  her  husband,  the  two  confabulated  a  little  apart,  and 
finally  they  invited  Stephenson  into  the  cottage.  Always  full  of 
conversation  and  anecdote,  he  soon  made  himself  at  home  in  the 
farmer's  family,  and  spent  with  them  a  few  pleasant  hours.  He 
was  hospitably  entertained  for  the  night,  and  when  he  left  the 
cottage  in  the  morning,  he  pressed  them  to  make  some  charge  for 
his  lodging,  but  they  would  not  hear  of  such  a  thing.    They  asked 


^&  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

him  to  remember  them  kindly,  and  if  he  ever  came  that  way,  to 
be  sure  and  call  again.  Many  years  after,  when  Stephenson  had 
become  a  thriving  man,  he  did  not  forget  the  humble  pair  who 
had  thus  succored  and  entertained  him  on  his  way ;  he  sought 
their  cottage  again,  when  age  had  silvered  their  hair ;  and  when 
he  left  the  aged  couple,  on  that  occasion,  they  may  have  been  re- 
minded of  the  old  saying  that  we  may  sometimes  "  entertain  an- 
gels unawares." 

Reaching  home,  Stephenson  found  that  his  father  had  met  with 
a  serious  accident  at  the  Blucher  Pit,  which  had  reduced  him  to 
great  distress  and  poverty.  While  engaged  in  the  inside  of  an 
engine,  making  some  repairs,  a  fellow-workman  accidentally  let 
in  the  steam  upon  him.  The  blast  struck  him  full  in  the  face — 
he  was  terribly  scorched,  and  his  eyesight  was  irretrievably  lost. 
The  helpless  and  infirm  man  had  sti-uggled  for  a  time  with  pov- 
erty ;  his  sons  who  were  at  home,  poor  as  himself,  were  little  able 
to  help  him,  while  George  was  at  a  distance  in  Scotland.  On 
his  return,  however,  with  his  savings  in  his  pocket,  his  first  step 
was  to  pay  off  his  father's  debts,  amounting  to  about  151. ;  soon 
afterwards  he  removed  the  aged  pair  from  Jolly's  Close  to  a  com- 
fortable cottage  adjoining  the  tram-road  near  the  West  Moor  at 
Killingworth,  where  the  old  man  lived  for  many  years,  supported 
entirely  by  his  son.  He  was  quite  blind,  but  cheerful  to  the  last. 
One  of  his  greatest  pleasures,  towards  the  close  of  his  hfe,  was 
to  receive  a  visit  from  his  grandson  Robert,  who  would  ride 
straight  into  the  cottage  mounted  on  his  "  cvdy,"  and  call  upon 
his  grandfather  to  admire  the  points  of  the  animal.  The  old 
man  would  then  dilate  upon  the  ears,  fetlocks,  and  quarters  of 
the  donkey,  and  generally  conclude  by  pronouncing  him  to  be  a 
"  real  blood." 

Stephenson  was  agaui  taken  on  as  a  brakesman  at  the  West 
Moor  Pit.  He  does  not  seem  to  have  been  very  hopeful  as  to 
his  prospects  in  life  about  the  time  (1807-8).  Indeed,  the  con- 
dition of  the  workmg  class  generally  was  then  very  discom-aging. 


ENGLAND    ENGAGED    IN    WAR.  37 

England  WcOS  engaged  in  a  great  war,  which  pressed  heavily  upon 
the  industry,  and  severely  tried  the  resources  of  the  country. 
Heavy  taxes  were  imposed  upon  all  the  articles  of  consumption 
that  would  bear  them.  Incomes  of  oOl.  a  year  and  upwards  were 
taxed  10  per  cent.  There  was  a  constant  demand  for  men  to  fill 
the  army,  navy,  and  militia.  Never  before  had  England  heard 
such  drumming  and  fifing  for  recruits.  In  1805,  the  gross  forces 
of  the  United  Kingdom  amounted  to  nearly  700,000  men,  and 
early  in  1808  Lord  Castlereagh  carried  a  measure  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  local  miUtia  of  200,000  men.  These  measures 
produced  great  and  general  distress  amongst  the  laboring  classes. 
There  were  serious  riots  in  Manchester,  Newcastle,  and  elsewhere, 
through  scarcity  of  work  and  lowness  of  wages.  Every  seventh 
person  in  England  was  a  pauper,  maintained  out  of  the  poor- 
rates — there  being,  in  1807,  1,234,000  paupers  to  7,036,000  per- 
sons who  were  not  paupers.  Those  laborers  who  succeeded  in 
finding  employment  were  regularly  mulcted  of  a  large  portion  of 
their  earnings  to  maintain  the  unemployed,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  carry  on  the  ten-ible  war  in  which  Britain  contended  single- 
handed  against  Napoleon,  then  everywhere  victorious.  The 
working  people  were  also  liable  to  be  pressed  for  the  navy,  or 
drawn  for  the  militia ;  and  though  men  could  not  fail  to  be  dis- 
contented under  such  circumstances,  they  scarcely  dared,  in  those 
perilous  times,  even  to  mutter  their  discontent  to  their  neighbors. 
George  Stephenson  was  one  of  those  drawn  at  that  time  for 
the  militia.  He  must  therefore  either  quit  his  work  and  go  a 
soldiering,  or  find  a  substitute.  He  adopted  the  latter  course, 
and  paid  a  considerable  sum  of  money  to  a  militia-man  to  serve 
in  his  stead.  Thus  nearly  the  whole  of  his  hard  won  earnings 
were  swept  away  at  a  stroke.  He  was  almost  in  despair,  and 
contemplated  the  idea  of  leaving  the  country,  and  emigrating  to 
the  United  States.  A  voyage  thither  was  then  a  more  formidable 
thing  for  a  working  man  to  accomphsh  than  a  voyage  to  Australia 
is  now.    But  he  seriously  entertained  the  project,  and  had  all  but 


38  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

made  up  his  mind.  His  sister  Ann,  with  her  husband,  emigrated 
about  that  time,  but  George  could  not  raise  the  requisite  money, 
and  they  departed  witliout  him.  After  all,  it  went  sore  against 
his  heart  to  leave  his  home  and  his  kindred — the  scenes  of  his 
youth  and  the  friends  of  his  boyhood  ;  but  he  struggled  long  with 
the  idea,  brooding  over  it  in  sorrow.  Speaking  afterwards  to  a 
friend  of  his  thoughts  at  the  time,  he  said :  "  You  know  the  road 
ft'om  my  house  at  the  West  Moor  to  Killingworth  ?  I  remember 
when  I  went  along  that  road  I  wept  bitterly,  for  I  knew  not 
where  my  lot  would  be  cast."  But  Providence  had  better  and 
greater  things  in  store  for  George  Stephenson  than  the  lot  of  a 
settler  in  the  wilds  of  America.  It  was  well  that  his  poverty 
prevented  him  from  prosecuting  further  the  idea  of  emigration, 
and  rooted  him  to  the  place  where  he  afterwards  worked  out  his 
great  career  so  manfully  and  victoriously. 

JNIany  years  after,  when  addressing  a  society  of  young  men  at 
Belper,  in  Derbyshire,  on  the  necessity  of  Perseverance  —  his 
favorite  text — he  said:  "  Well  do  I  remember  the  beginning  of 
my  career  as  an  engineer,  and  the  great  perseverance  that  was 
required  for  me  to  get  on.  Not  having  served  an  apprenticeship, 
I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  go  to  Amei'ica,  considering  that  no 
one  in  England  would  trust  me  to  act  as  engineer.  However,  I 
was  trusted  in  some  small  matters,  and  succeeded  in  giving  satis- 
faction. Greater  trusts  were  reposed  in  me,  in  which  I  also  suc- 
ceeded. Soon  after,  I  commenced  making  the  locomotive  engine ; 
and  the  results  of  my  perseverance  you  have  this  day  witnessed."* 

In  1808,  Stephenson,  with  two  other  brakesmen,  named  Robert 
Wedderburn  and  George  Dodds,  took  a  small  contract  under  the 
colliery  lessees,  for  braking  the  engines  at  the  West  Moor  Pit, 
The  brakesmen  found  the  oil  and  tallow ;  they  divided  the  work 
amongst  them,  and  were  paid  so  much  per  score  for  their  labor. 

*  Speech  to  Mechanics'  Institute  at  Belper,  July  6th,  1841,  the  members  of  the  Ches- 
terfield Institute  haying  traveled  thither  by  railway  train  over  the  line  constructed  by 
Mr.  Stephenson. 


MENDS    CLOCKS    AND    WATCHES.  39 

There  being  two  engines  working  night  and  day,  two  of  the  three 
men  were  always  at  work ;  the  average  earnings  of  each  amount- 
ing to  from  18s.  to  20s.  a  week.  But  Stephenson  resorted  to  hi:s 
usual  mode  of  ekeing  out  his  earnings.  His  sou  Robert  would 
soon  be  of  an  age  to  be  sent  to  school ;  and  the  father,  being  but 
too  conscious,  from  his  own  experience,  of  the  disadvantages  aris- 
ing from  the  want  of  instruction,  determined  that  his  boy  should 
at  least  receive  the  elements  of  a  good  education.  Stinted  as  he 
was  for  means  at  the  time,  maintaining  his  parents,  and  struggling 
with  difficulties,  this  early  resolution  to  afford  his  son  proper  cul- 
ture, must  be  regarded  as  a  noble  feature  in  his  character,  and 
strikingly  illustrative  of  his  thoughtfulness  and  conscientiousness. 
Many  years  after,  speaking  of  the  resolution  which  he  thus  early 
formed,  he  said :  "  In  the  earlier  period  of  my  career,  when 
Robert  was  a  little  boy,  I  saw  how  deficient  I  was  in  education, 
and  I  made  up  my  mind  that  he  should  not  labor  under  the  same 
defect,  but  that  I  would  put  him  to  a  good  school,  and  give  him 
a  liberal  training.  I  was,  however,  a  poor  man  ;  and  how  do  )'ou 
think  I  managed  ?  I  betook  myself  to  mending  my  neighbors' 
clocks  and  watches  at  nights,  after  my  daily  labor  was  done,  and 
thus  I  procured  the  means  of  educating  my  son."* 

Besides  mending  clocks  and  watches  at  this  time,  he  also  con- 
tinued to  make  and  mend  shoes,  and  to  manufacture  shoe-lasts  for 
the  shoemakers  of  the  neighborhood.  He  even  cut  out  the  pit- 
men's clothes  for  their  wives  to  make  up ;  and  it  is  said  that  to 
this  day  there  are  clothes  worn  at  Killingworth  which  have  been 
made  after  "  Geordy  Steevie's  cut." 

Perhaps  the  secret  of  every  man's  best  success  in  life  is  the 
readiness  with  which  he  takes  advantage  of  opportunities. 
George  Stephenson  was  an  eminent  illustration  of  this  readiness 
in  turning  all  his  time  to  profit,  and  everything  that  he  knew  to 
useful  account.    Every  spare  minute  was  laid  under  contribution, 

*  Speech  at  Newcastle,  on  the  18th  June,  1844,  on  the  occasion  of  celebrating  the  open- 
ing of  the  Newcastle  and  Darlington  Railway. 


40  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

eitlier  for  the  purpose  of  adding  to  his  earnings  or  to  his  knowl- 
edge. The  smallest  fragments  of  his  time  were  regarded  by  him 
as  precious  ;  and  he  was  never  so  happy  as  when  improving  them. 
He  missed  no  opportunity  of  extending  his  observations,  more 
especially  in  his  own  immediate  department ;  he  was  always  ac- 
quiring new  facts,  and  aiming  at  improvements  in  his  own  calling. 
Sometimes  he  failed,  but  his  very  failures  only  served  to  strengthen 
his  hardy  nature,  and  they  eventually  conducted  him  to  success. 

The  "small  matters"  intrusted  to  George  Stephenson,  in  which 
he  succeeded,  as  referred  to  in  his  t^peech  at  Belper,  were  these : 
Soon  after  he  became  a  brakesman  at  the  West  ]Moor,  he  observ- 
ed that  the  ropes  with  wliich  the  coal  was  drawn  out  of  the  pit 
by  the  winding-engine  were  badly  arranged,  as  he  thought,  and 
he  suggested  an  improvement.  The  ropes  "  glued,"  and  wore 
each  other  to  tatters  by  perpetual  friction.  There  was  thus  great 
wear  and  tear,  and  a  serious  increase  in  the  expenses  of  the  pit. 
George  found  that  the  ropes  which,  at  other  pits  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, lasted  about  three  months,  at  the  West  Moor  Pit  became 
worn  out  in  about  a  month.  As  there  was  at  that  time  an  inter- 
ruption of  the  trade  with  Russia  in  consequence  of  the  war,  and 
ropes  were  exceedingly  dear,  (about  Is.  bd.  the  pound,)  it  was 
obvious  to  him  that  any  improvement  by  which  a  saving  in  the 
wear  of  ropes  could  be  effected,  would  be  of  considerable  advan- 
tage to  the  owners.  His  suggestions  were  approved  by  the  head 
engineer  of  the  pit,  and  he  was  encouraged  to  carry  them  into 
effect.  He  accordingly  did  so,  and  by  shifting  the  pulley-wheels 
so  that  they  worked  immediately  over  the  centre  of  the  pit,  and 
by  an  entire  rearrangement  of  the  gearing  of  the  machine,  he 
shortly  succeeded  in  greatly  lessening  the  wear  and  tear  of  the 
ropes,  much  to  the  advantage  of  the  owners  as  well  as  of  the 
workmen,  who  were  thus  enabled  to  labor  more  continuously  and 
profitably. 

He  also,  about  the  same  time,  attempted  to  effect  an  improve- 
ment in  the  wmding-engine,  which  he  worked,  by  placing  a  valve 


ATTEMPTS    TO    IMPROVE    THE    AVINDIXG-ENGINE.  41 

between  the  air-pump  and  condenser.  This  expedient,  although 
it  led  to  no  practical  results,  showed  that  his  mind  was  actively 
at  work  in  mechanical  adaptations.  It  continued  to  be  his  reg- 
ular habit,  on  Saturdays,  to  take  the  engine  to  pieces,  for  the 
purpose,  at  the  same  time,  of  familiarizing  himself  with  its  action, 
and  of  placing  it  in  a  state  of  thorough  working  order.  And  by 
thus  diligently  mastering  the  details  of  the  engine,  he  was  enabled, 
as  opportunity  occurred,  to  turn  to  practical  account  the  knowl- 
edge thus  patiently  acquired. 

Such  an  opportunity  was  not  long  in  presenting  itself.  In  the 
year  1810,  a  pit  was  sunk  by  the  "  Grand  Allies,"  (the  lessees  of 
the  pit,)  at  the  village  of  Killingworth,  now  known  as  the  Kil- 
lingworth  High  Pit.  An  atmospheric  or  Newcomen  engine,  orig- 
inally made  by  Smeaton,  was  fixed  there  for  the  purpose  of  pump- 
ing out  the  water  from  the  shaft ;  but  somehow  or  other  the  engine 
failed  to  clear  the  pit.  As  one  of  the  workmen  has  since  described 
the  circumstance — "She  couldn't  keep  her  jack-head  in  water; 
all  the  enginemen  in  the  neighborhood  were  tried,  as  Avell  as  Crow- 
ther  of  the  Ouscburn,  but  they  were  clean  bet." 

Good  working  engineers  were  then  rarely  to  be  met  with;  and 
many  even  of  those  who  were  most  in  repute,  worked  very  much 
in  the  dark,  without  any  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  mechan- 
ics. The  tools  used  in  the  construction  of  engines  were  of  the 
rudest  description,  the  fabrication  of  the  parts  being,  for  the  most 
part,  done  by  hand.  A  few  iU-constructed  lathes,  with  di'Uls  and 
boring-machines  of  rude  construction,  constituted  the  principal 
tools.  The  mechanics  were  also  very  clumsy,  and  for  the  most 
part,  ill-trained.  Indeed,  there  were  only  three  or  four  establish 
ments  at  that  time  in  the  kingdom  that  could  tuni  out  a  respecta- 
ble steam  engine.  It  is  not,  therefore,  surprising  that  this  engine 
should  have  proved  a  failure,  and  that  neither  the  master  engin- 
eer nor  any  of  the  workmen  in  the  neighborhood  could  set  her  to 
rights. 

The  engine  went  on  fruitlessly  pumping  for  nearly  twelve 


42  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

months,  and  began  to  be  looked  on  as  a  total  failure.  Stephen- 
son had  gone  to  look  at  it  when  in  course  of  erection,  and  then 
observed  to  the  over-man  that  he  thought  it  was  defective ;  he 
also  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that,  if  there  were  much  water  in  the 
mine,  the  engine  would  never  keep  it  under.  Of  course,  as  he 
was  only  a  brakesman,  his  opinion  was  considered  to  be  worth 
very  little  on  such  a  point,  and  no  more  was  thought  about  it. 
He  continued,  however,  to  make  frequent  visits  to  the  engine,  to 
see  "how  she  was  getting  on."  From  the  bank-head  where  he 
worked  his  brake  he  could  see  the  chimney  smoking  at  the  High 
Pit ;  and  as  the  workmen  were  passing  to  and  from  their  work, 
he  would  call  out  and  inquire  "if  they  had  gotten  to  the  bottom 
yet?"  And  the  reply  was  always  to  the  same  effect — the  pump- 
ing made  no  progress,  and  the  workmen  were  still  "  drowned  out." 

One  Saturday  afternoon  he  went  over  to  the  High  Pit  to  ex- 
amine the  engine  more  carefully  than  he  had  yet  done.  He  had 
been  turning  the  subject  over  in  his  mind ;  and  after  a  long  ex- 
amination, he  seemed  to  satisfy  himself  as  to  the  cause  of  the 
failure.  Kit  Heppel,  who  was  a  sinker  at  the  mine,  said  to  him: 
"Weel,  George,  what  do  you  mak'  o'  her?  Do  you  think  you 
could  do  anything  to  improve  her?"  "Man,"  said  George  in 
reply,  "  I  could  alter  her  and  make  her  draw ;  in  a  week's  time 
from  this  I  could  send  you  to  the  bottom." 

Forthwith  Heppel  reported  this  conversation  to  Ralph  Dodds, 
the  head  viewer;  and  Dodds  being  now  quite  in  despair,  and 
hopeless  of  succeeding  with  the  engine,  determined  to  give 
George's  skill  a  trial.  George  had  already  acquired  the  char- 
acter of  a  very  clever  and  ingenious  workman ;  and  at  the  worst 
he  could  only  fail,  as  the  rest  had  done.  In  the  evening,  Mr. 
Dodds  went  towards  Stephenson's  cottage  in  search  of  him.  He 
met  him  on  the  road,  dressed  in  his  Sunday's  suit,  about  to  j^ro- 
ceed  to  "the  preachings"  in  the  Methodist  Chapel,  which  he  at 
that  time  attended.  "  Well,  George,"  said  Mr.  Dodds,  accosting 
him,  "  they  tell  me  you  think  you  can  put  the  engine  at  the  High 


CURES    THE    PUMPING-ENGINE.  43 

Pit  to  rights."  "Yes  sir,"  said  George,  "I  think  I  could."  "If 
that's  the  case,  I'll  give  you  a  fair  trial,  and  you  must  set  to  work 
immediately.  We  are  clean  drowned  out,  and  cannot  get  a  step 
further.  The  engineers  hereabout  are  all  bet ;  and  if  you  really 
succeed  in  accomplishing  what  they  cannot  do,  you  may  depend 
upon  it  I  will  make  you  a  man  for  life." 

It  is  said  that  George,  the  same  evening,  borrowed  the  "how- 
die  horse,"  *  and  rode  over  to  Duke's  Hall,  near  Walbottle, 
where  his  old  friend  Hawthorn,  the  engineer  to  the  Duke  of 
Northumberland,  then  resided,  and  consulted  him  as  to  the  im- 
provements which  he  proposed  to  make  in  the  pumping-engine. 
And  next  morning,  Sunday  though  it  was,  (for  the  work  must  be 
commenced  forthwith,)  Stephenson  entered  upon  his  labors.  The 
only  condition  that  he  made,  before  setting  to  work,  was  that  he 
should  select  his  own  woi'kmen.  There  was,  as  he  knew,  a  good 
deal  of  jealousy  amongst  the  "regular"  men  that  a  colliery  brakes- 
man should  pretend  to  know  more  about  their  engine  than  they 
themselves  did,  and  attempt  to  remedy  defects  which  the  most 
skilled  men  of  their  craft,  including  the  engineer  of  the  colliery, 
had  failed  to  do.  But  George  made  the  condition  a  sine  qua  non. 
"The  workmen,"  said  he,  "must  neither  be  all  Wliigs  or  all  To- 
ries." There  was  no  help  for  it,  so  Dodds  ordered  the  old  hands 
to  stand  aside.  The  men  grumbled,  but  gave  way ;  and  George 
and  his  party  went  in. 

The  engine  was  taken  entirely  to  pieces.  The  injection  cap, 
being  considei'ed  too  small,  was  enlarged  to  nearly  double  its 
former  size,  the  opening  being  increased  to  about  twice  the  area. 
The  cylinder  having  been  found  too  long,  was  packed  at  the  bot- 
tom with  pieces  of  timber ;  these  and  other  alterations  were  ne- 
cessarily performed  in  a  rough  way,  but,  as  the  result  proved,  on 
true  principles.  The  repairs  occupied  about  four  days,  and  by 
the  following  Wednesday  the  engine  was  carefully  put  together 

*  One  of  the  pit  horses  generally  employed  in  case  of  emergency  in  bringing  the  mid- 
wife to  the  rescue. 


44  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

again  and  set  to  work.  It  was  kept  pumping  all  Thursday,  and 
by  the  Friday  afternoon  the  pit  was  cleared  of  water,  and  the 
workmen  were  "sent  to  the  bottom,"  as  Stephenson  had  prom- 
ised. The  alterations  thus  effected  in  the  engine  and  in  the 
pumping  apparatus  proved  completely  successful,  and  Stephen- 
son's skill  as  a  pump-curer  became  the  marvel  of  the  neighbor- 
hood. 

Mr.  Dodds  was  particularly  gratified  with  the  manner  in  which 
the  job  had  been  done,  and  he  made  Stephenson  a  present  of 
ten  pounds,  which,  though  very  inadequate  when  compared  with 
the  value  of  the  work  performed,  was  accepted  by  him  with 
gratitude.  He  was  proud  of  the  gift  as  the  first  marked  recog- 
nition of  his  skill  as  a  workman ;  and  he  used  afterwards  to  say 
that  it  was  the  biggest  sum  of  money  he  had  up  to  that  time 
earned  in  one  lump.  Ralph  Dodds,  however,  did  more  than  this. 
He  appointed  Stephenson  engineman  at  High  Pit,  at  good  wages, 
during  the  time  the  pit  was  sinking — the  job  lasting  for  about  a 
year ;  and  he  also  kept  him  in  mind  for  further  advancement. 

Stephenson's  skill  as  an  engine-doctor  soon  became  noised 
abroad,  and  he  was  called  upon  to  prescribe  remedies  for  all  the 
old,  wheezy,  and  ineffective  pumping  machines  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. In  this  capacity  he  soon  left  the  "regular"  men  far  be- 
hind, though  they  in  their  turn  were  very  much  disposed  to  treat 
the  Killingworth  brakesman  as  no  better  than  a  quack.  Never- 
theless, his  practice  was  really  founded  upon  a  close  study  of  the 
principles  of  mechanics,  and  on  an  intimate  practical  acquaint- 
ance with  the  details  of  the  pumping-engine. 

Another  of  his  smaller  achievements  in  the  same  line  is  still 
told  by  the  people  of  the  district.  While  passing  to  and  from 
his  work  at  High  Pit,  he  observed  that  the  workmen  in  the 
quarry  in  the  corner  of  the  road  leading  to  Long  Benton,  were 
considerably  interrupted  by  the  accumulation  of  water.  A  wind- 
mill was  put  up  for  the  purpose  of  driving  a  pumping  apparatus, 
but  it  failed  to  draw  the  water.     Stephenson  was  asked  what 


HIS   LOCAL   CELEBRITY.  46 

they  were  to  do  in  order  to  clear  the  quarry.  He  said  "he 
would  set  up  for  them  an  engine  no  bigger  than  a  kail-pot  that 
would  clear  them  out  in  a  week."  And  he  did  so.  A  little  en- 
gine was  speedily  erected  by  him,  and  by  its  means  the  quarry 
was  pumped  dry  in  the  course  of  a  few  days.  Thus  his  local 
celebrity  very  soon  became  considerable. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

COLLIERY  ENGINE- WEIGHT  AT  KILLING  WORTH. 

While  thus  daily  engaged  in  the  curing  and  working  of 
pumping-engines,  George  Stephenson  continued  diligently  to 
employ  his  evenings  in  self-improvement.  When  not  occupied 
in  cleaning  clocks  and  watches,  he  was  busy  contriving  models  of 
steam-engines  and  pumping-engines,  or  attempting  to  master  the 
mysteries  of  perpetual  motion  (which  he  had  not  yet  given  up), 
or  endeavoring  to  embody  in  a  tangible  shape  the  mechanical  in- 
ventions which  he  found  described  in  the  odd  volumes  on  me- 
chanics which  came  in  his  way. 

Many  of  those  evenings  were  spent  in  the  society  of  John 
Wigham,  whose  father  occupied  the  Glebe  farm  at  Benton,  close 
at  hand.  John  was  a  good  penman  and  a  good  arithmetician, 
and  Stephenson  frequented  his  society  cliiefiy  for  the  pm-pose  of 
improving  himself  in  these  points.  Under  Andi'ew  Eobertson, 
he  had  never  thoroughly  mastered  the  rule  of  three,  and  it  was 
only  when  Wigham  took  him  in  hand  that  he  made  any  decided 
progress  towards  the  higher  branches  of  arithmetic.  He  gen- 
erally took  his  slate  with  him  to  Wigham's  cottage,  when  he  had 
his  sums  set,  that  he  might  work  them  out  while  tending  the  en- 
gine on  the  following  day.  When  too  busy  with  other  work  to 
be  able  to  call  upon  Wigham  in  person,  he  sent  the  slate  by  a 
fellow-workman  to  have  the  former  sums  corrected  and  new  ones 
set.     So  much  patient  persevei'ance  could  not  but  eventually  sue- 

(46) 


ASSISTANCE   DERIVED   FROM    WIGHAM.  47 

ceed ;  and  by  dint  of  practice  and  study,  Steiihenson  was  enabled 
successively  to  master  the  various  rules  of  arithmetic. 

John  Wigham  was  of  great  use  to  his  pupil  in  many  ways. 
He  was  a  good  talker,  fond  of  argument,  an  extensive  reader,  as 
country  reading   went   in   those  days,  and   a   very   suggestive 
thinker.     Though  his  store  of  information  might  be  compara- 
tively small  when  measured  with  that  of  more  highly  cultivated 
minds,  much  of  it  was  entirely  new  to  Stephenson,  who  regarded 
him  as  a  very  clever  and  extraordinary  person.     Young  as  John 
Wigham  was,  he  could  give  much  useful  assistance  to  Stephen- 
son at  that  time,  and  his  neighborly  services  were  worth  un- 
told gold  to  the  eager  pupil.     Wigham  taught  him  to  draw  plans 
and  sections ;  though  in  this  branch   Stephenson   proved  so  apt 
that  he  soon  surpassed   his  master.     Wigham  was   also  a  little 
versed  in  Chemistry  and  Natural  Philosophy,  and  a  volume  of 
Ferguson's  Lectures  on   Mechanics  which  he  possessed  was  a 
great  treasure  to  both  the  students.     One  who  remembers  their 
evening  occupations,  says  he  used  to  wonder  what  they  meant  by 
weighing  the  air  and  water  in  their  odd  way.     They  were  trying 
the  specific  gravities  of  objects ;  and  the  devices  which  they  em- 
ployed, the  mechanical  shifts  to  which  they  were  put,  were  often 
of  the  rudest  kind.     In  these  evening  entertainments,  the  me- 
chanical contrivances  were  supplied  by  Stephenson,  whilst  Wig- 
ham found  the  scientific  rationale.     The  opportunity  thus  affoixled 
to  the  former  of  cultivating  his  mind  by  contact  v/ith  one  wiser 
than  himself  proved  of  great  value,  and  in  after-life  Stephenson 
gratefully  remembered  the  assistance  which,  when  an  humble 
workman,  he  had  derived  from  John  Wigham,  the  farmer's  son. 
His  leisure  moments  thus  carefully  improved,  it  will  be  in- 
ferred that   Stephenson  was  necessarily  a  sober  man.     Though 
his  notions  were  never  extreme  on  this  point,  he  was  systemat- 
ically temperate.     It  appears  that  on  the  invitation  of  his  master, 
Ralph  Dodds  —  and  an  invitation  from  a  master  to  a  workman  is 
not  easy  to  resist — he  had  on  one  or  two  occasions,  been  induced 


48  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

to  join  him  in  a  forenoon  glass  of  ale  in  the  pubhc-house  of  the 
village.  But  one  day,  about  noon,  when  Mr.  Dodds  had  got  him 
aa  far  as  the  public-house  door,  on  his  invitation  to  "  come  and 
take  a  glass  o'  yiil,"  Stephenson  made  a  dead  stop,  and  said  firmly, 
"  No,  sir,  you  must  excuse  me ;  I  have  made  a  resolution  to  drink 
no  more  at  this  time  of  day."  And  he  went  back.  He  desired 
to  retain  the  character  of  a  steady  workman ;  and  the  instances 
of  men  about  him  who  had  made  shipwreck  of  their  character 
through  intemperance,  were  then,  as  now,  unhappily,  but  too 
frequent.  Perhaps,  too,  he  was  sober  with  an  eye  to  thrift.  He 
still  steadily  kept  in  mind  the  resolution  which  he  had  formed  to 
give  his  son  a  good  education,  and  Eobert  was  now  of  an  age  to 
be  sent  to  a  better  school  than  that  which  the  neighboring  village 
of  Long  Benton  provided.  There  he  had  been  some  time  under 
the  charge  of  Eutter,  the  parish  clerk,  who  kept  a  road-side 
school,  where  the  instruction  was  of  a  very  limited  kind — scarcely 
extending  beyond  the  child's  primer  and  "pot-hooks."  About 
the  year  1814,  Eobert  was  accordingly  sent  to  Bruce's  academy 
at  Newcastle,  where  he  commenced  a  course  of  sound  elementary 
instruction. 

By  dint  of  extra  labor  during  his  by-hours,  with  this  object, 
George  Stephenson  had  managed  to  save  a  sum  of  £100,  which 
he  accumulated  in  guineas,  each  of  which  he  afterwards  sold  to 
Jews,  who  went  about  buying  up  gold  coins  (then  dearer  than 
silver),  at  twenty-six  shillings  a  piece ;  and  he  lent  out  the  pro- 
ceeds at  good  interest.  He  was  now,  therefore,  a  comparatively 
thriving  man.  The  first  guinea  which  he  had  saved  with  so 
much  difficulty  at  Black  Callerton,  had  proved  the  nest-egg  of 
future  guineas ;  and  the  habits  of  economy  and  sobriety  which 
he  had  so  early  cultivated,  now  enabled  him  to  secure  a  firmer 
foothold  in  the  world,  and  to  command  the  increased  esteem  and 
respect  of  his  fellow-workmen  and  employers. 

At  this  time,  and  for  many  years  after,  Stephenson  dwelt  in  a 
cottage  standing  by  the  side  of  the  road  leading  from  the  "West 


HIS    COTTAGE,    ETC.  49 

Moor  Pit  to  Killingworth.  The  railway  from  the  West  Moor 
Pit  crosses  this  road  close  by  the  easternmost  end  of  the  cottage. 
The  dwelling  originally  consisted  of  but  one  apartment  on  the 
ground  floor,  with  a  garret  overhead,  to  which  access  was  obtained 
by  means  of  a  step-ladder.  But  with  his  own  hands  Stephenson 
built  an  oven ;  and  in  course  of  time  he  added  rooms  to  the 
cottage,  until  it  grew  into  a  comfortable  four-roomed  dwelling,  in 
which  he  continued  to  live  as  long  as  he  resided  at  KillingAvortli. 

There  was  a  little  garden  attached  to  the  cottage,  in  which, 
while  a  workman,  Stephenson  took  a  pride  in  growing  gigantic 
leeks  and  astounding  cabbages.  There  was  great  competition 
amongst  the  villagers  in  the  growth  of  vegetables,  all  of  whom 
he  excelled,  excepting  one  of  his  neighbors,  whose  cabbages 
sometimes  outshone  his. 

In  the  protection  of  his  garden  crops  from  the  ravages  of  the 
birds,  he  invented  a  strange  sort  of  "  fley-craw,"  which  moved 
its  arms  with  the  wind ;  and  he  fastened  his  garden  door  by 
means  of  a  piece  of  ingenious  mechanism,  so  that  no  one  but 
himself  could  enter  it.  Indeed,  his  odd  and  eccentric  contrivan- 
ces excited  much  marvel  amongst  the  Killingworth  villagers. 
Thus,  he  won  the  women's  admiration  by  connecting  their  cradles 
with  the  smoke-jack,  and  making  them  self-acting!  Then  he 
astonished  the  pitmen  by  attaching  an  alarm  to  the  clock  of  the 
watchman,  whose  duty  it  was  to  call  them  betimes  in  the  morning. 
The  cottage  of  Stephenson  was  a  sort  of  curiosity  shop  of  models, 
engines,  self-acting  planes,  and  perpetual  motion  machines — 
which  last  contrivance,  however,  baffled  him  as  effectually  as  it 
had  done  hundreds  of  preceding  inventors.  He  also  contrived 
a  wonderful  lamp  which  burned  under  water,  with  which  he  was 
afterwards  wont  to  amuse  the  Brandling  family  at  Gosfoith — 
going  into  the  fish-pond  at  night,  lamp  in  hand,  attracting  and 
catching  the  fish,  which  rushed  wildly  towards  the  subaqueous 
flame. 

Dr.  Bruce  tells  of  a  competition  which  Stephenson  had  with 
4 


50  LIFE  OF    GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

the  joiner  at  Killingworth,  as  to  wliich  of  them  could  make  the 
best  shoe-last ;  and  when  the  former  had  done  his  work,  either 
for  the  humor  of  the  thing,  or  to  secure  fair  play  from  the  ap- 
pointed judge,  he  took  it  to  the  Morrisons  in  Newcastle,  and  got 
them  to  put  their  stamp  upon  it.  So  that  it  is  possible  the  Kil- 
lingworth brakesman,  afterwards  the  inventor  of  the  safety-lamp 
and  the  originator  of  the  railway  system,  and  John  Morrison,  the 
la&t-maker,  afterwards  the  translator  of  the  Scriptures  into  the 
Chinese  language,  may  have  confronted  each  other  in  solenm 
contemplation  over  the  successful  last,  which  won  the  verdict 
coveted  by  its  maker. 

Sometimes  he  would  endeavor  to  impart  to  his  fellow-workmen 
the  results  of  his  scientific  reading.  Every  thing  that  he  learnt 
from  books  was  so  new  and  so  wonderful  to  him,  that  he  regarded 
the  facts  he  drew  from  them  in  the  light  of  discoveries,  as  if  thev 
had  been  made  but  yesterday.  Once  he  tried  to  explain  to  some 
of  the  pitmen  how  the  earth  was  round,  and  kept  turning  round. 
But  his  auditors  flatly  declared  the  thing  to  be  impossible,  as  it 
was  clear  that  "  at  the  bottom  side  they  must  fall  off!"  "  Ah !" 
said  George,  "  you  don't  quite  understand  it  yet." 

In  elastic  muscular  vigor,  George  Stephenson  was  now  in  his 
prime,  and  he  still  continued  to  be  zealous  in  measuring  his 
strength  and  agility  with  his  fellow-workmen.  The  competitive 
element  in  his  nature  was  strong ;  and  liis  success  was  remark- 
able in  these  feats  of  rivalry.  Few,  if  any,  could  lift  such  weights, 
throw  the  hammer  and  put  the  stone  so  far,  or  cover  so  gi-eat  a 
space  at  a  standing  or  running  leap.  One  day,  between  the 
engine  hour  and  the  rope-rolling  hour,  Kit  Heppel  challenged 
him  to  leap  from  one  high  wall  to  another,  with  a  deep  gap 
between  them.  To  Heppel's  surprise  and  dismay,  George  took 
the  standing  leap,  and  cleared  the  eleven  feet  at  a  bound.  Had 
his  eye  been  less  accurate,  or  his  limbs  less  agile  and  sure,  the 
feat  must  have  cost  him  his  life. 

But  so  full  of  redundant  muscular  vigor  was  he,  that  leaping, 


PEDESTRIANISM.  51 

putting  and  throwing  the  hammer,  were  not  enough  for  him.  He 
was  also  ambitious  of  riding  on  horseback,  and  as  he  had  not  yet 
been  promoted  to  the  honor  of  keeping  a  riding  horse  of  his  own, 
(which,  however,  he  was  shortly  afterwards,)  he  sometimes  con- 
trived to  ride  for  "  the  howdie,"  when  the  services  of  that  official 
Avere  required  in  the  village.  He  would  volunteer  his  services 
on  such  occasions,  when  the  fleetest  of  the  gin-horses  were  usually 
put  in  requisition.  Sometimes,  also,  he  borrowed  the  animal  for 
a  pleasure  ride.  On  one  of  these  latter  occasions,  he  brought  the 
horse  back  reeking ;  on  which  Tommy  Mitcheson,  the  bank  horse- 
keeper,  a  rough-spoken  fellow,  exclaimed  to  him :  —  "  Set  such 
fellows  as  you  on  horseback,  and  you'll  soon  ride  to  the  de'il." 
But  Tommy  Mitcheson  lived  to  tell  the  joke,  and  confess  that, 
after  all,  there  had  been  a  better  issue  to  George's  horsemanship 
than  that  which  he  so  hastily  predicted. 

Old  Cree,  the  engine-wright  at  Killingworth,  having  been 
killed  by  an  accident,  George  Stephenson  was,  in  1812,  appointed 
engine-wright  of  the  colliery,  at  the  salary  of  £100  a  year.  He 
was  also  allowed  the  use  of  a  galloway  to  ride  upon,  in  his  visits 
of  inspection  to  the  collieries  leased  by  the  "Grand  Allies"  in 
that  neighborhood.  The  "Grand  Allies"  were  a  company  of 
gentlemen,  consisting  of  Sir  Thomas  Liddell  (afterwards  Lord 
Ravensworth),  the  Earl  of  Strathmore,  and  Mr.  Stuart  Wortley 
(afterwards  Lord  WharnclifFe),  the  lessees  of  the  Killingworth 
collieries.  Having  been  informed  of  the  merits  of  Stephenson, 
of  his  indefatigable  industry,  and  the  skill  which  he  had  displayed 
in  the  repairs  of  the  pumping-engines,  they  readily  acceded  to 
Mr.  Dodd's  recommendation,  that  he  should  be  ai)pointed  the 
colliery  engineer ;  and,  as  we  shall  see,  they  continued  to  honor 
him  by  distinguished  marks  of  their  approval. 

He  was  now  in  a  measure  relieved  from  the  daily  routine  of 
manual  labor,  and  advanced  to  the  grade  of  a  higher  class  Avork- 
man.  He  was  no  less  a  worker,  but  only  in  a  different  way.  It 
might  be   inferred   that  he  had   now  the  command  of  greater 


62  LIFE  OF   GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

leisure ;  but   his   leisure  hours  were  more  than  ever  given  to 
work,  either  necessary  or  self-imposed. 

Wlien  the  High  Pit  had  been  sunk,  and  the  coal  was  ready  for 
working,  Stephenson  erected  his  first  winding-engine,  to  di-aw  the 
coals  out  of  the  pit,  and  also  a  pumpmg-engine  for  Long  Benton 
colliery,  both  of  which  proved  quite  successful.  Amongst  other 
works  of  this  time,  he  projected  and  laid  down  a  self-acting 
incline,  along  the  declivity  which  fell  towards  the  coal-loading 
place  near  Willington,  where  he  had  formerly  officiated  as  brakes- 
man ;  and  he  so  arranged  it,  that  the  fuU  wagons  descending 
drew  the  empty  wagons  up  the  incline.  This  was  one  of  the  fii-st 
self-acthig  inclines  laid  down  in  that  district. 

Afterwards,  in  describing  his  occupations  at  this  period  of  his 
life  before  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,*  he  said : 
"  After  making  some  improvements  in  tlie  steam-engines  above 
ground,  I  was  then  requested  by  the  manager  of  the  colliery  to 
go  under  ground  along  with  him,  to  see  if  any  improvements 
could  be  made  in  the  mines,  by  employing  machinery  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  manual  labor  and  horse-power,  in  bringing  the  coals 
out  of  the  deeper  workings  of  the  mine.  On  my  first  going  down 
tlie  KiUingworth  Pit,  there  was  a  steam-engine  under  ground  for 
the  purpose  of  drawing  water  from  a  pit  that  was  sunk  at  some 
distance  from  the  first  shaft.  The  KiUingworth  coal-field  is  con- 
siderably dislocated.  After  the  colliery  was  opened,  at  a  very 
short  distance  from  the  shaft,  one  of  those  dislocations,  or  dykes 
as  they  are  called,  was  met  with.  The  coal  was  thrown  down 
about  forty  yards.  Considerable  time  was  spent  in  sinking 
another  pit  to  this  depth.  And  on  my  going  down  to  examine 
the  work,  I  proposed  making  the  engine  (which  had  been  erected 
some  time  previously)  to  draw  the  coals  up  an  inclined  plane, 
which  descended  immediately  from  the  place  where  it  was  fixed. 
A  considerable  change  was  accordingly  made  in  the  mode  of 
working  the  colliery,  not  only  in  applying  the  machinery,  but 

*  Evidence  giren  before  the  Select  Committee  on  Accidents  in  Mines,  1835. 


EDUCATION    OF   HIS    SON.  53 

employing  putters  instead  of  horses  in  bringing  the  coals  from 
the  hewers ;  and  by  those  changes,  the  number  of  horses  in  the 
pit  was  reduced  fi-om  about  one  hundred  to  fifteen  or  sixteen. 
During  the  time  I  was  engaged  in  making  these  important  alter- 
ations, I  went  round  the  workings  in  the  pit  with  the  viewer, 
almost  every  time  that  he  went  into  the  mine — not  only  at  Kil- 
lingworth,  but  at  Mountmoor,  Derwentcrook,  Southmoor,  all  of 
which  collieries  belonged  to  Lord  Ravensvt'orth  and  liis  partners  ; 
and  the  whole  of  the  machinery  in  all  these  colUeries  was  put 
under  my  charge." 

]Mr.  Stephenson  had  now  many  more  opportunities  for  improv- 
ing himself  in  mechanics  than  he  had  hitherto  possessed.  His 
familiar  acquaintance  with  the  steam-engine  proved  of  great  value 
to  him.  The  practical  study  wliich  he  had  given  to  it  when  a 
workman,  and  the  patient  manner  in  which  he  had  groped  his 
way  through  all  the  details  of  the  machine,  gave  him  the  power 
of  a  master  in  dealing  with  it,  as  applied  to  colliery  purposes. 
His  shrewd  insight,  together  with  his  intimate  practical  acquaint- 
ance with  its  mechanism,  enabled  him  to  apprehend,  as  if  by 
intuition,  its  most  abstruse  and  difficult  combinations. 

Sir  Thomas  Liddeli  was  frequently  about  the  w^orks,  and  he 
encouraged  Stephenson  greatly  in  his  efforts  after  improvement. 
The  subject  of  the  locomotive  engine  was  already  closely  occupy- 
ing his  attention ;  although  as  yet  it  was  regarded  very  much 
in  the  light  of  a  curious  and  costly  toy,  of  comparatively  small 
practical  use.  But  Stephenson  from  the  first  detected  the  value 
of  the  machine,  and  foraied  an  adequate  conception  of  the  gigan- 
tic might  which  as  yet  slumbered  within  it,  and  he  was  not  slow 
in  bending  the  whole  faculties  of  his  mind  to  the  development  of 
its  extraordinary  powers. 

Meanwhile,  the  education  of  his  son  Robert  at  the  Newcastle 
school  proceeded  apace,  and  the  father  contrived  to  make  his 
progress  instrumental  in  promoting  his  own  improvement.  The 
youth  was  entered   a  member  of  the  Newcastle  Literary  and 


54  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

Philosophical  Institution,  the  subscription  to  which  was  3/.  3s.  a 
yeai\  He  spent  much  of  his  leisure  time  there,  reading  and 
studying ;  and  on  Saturday  afternoons,  when  he  went  home  to 
his  father's  at  Killingworth,  he  usually  carried  with  him  a  volume 
of  the  Repertory  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  or  of  the  Edinburgh  En- 
cyclopaedia, which  furnished  abundant  subjects  for  interesting 
and  instructive  converse  during  the  evening  hours.  Then  John 
"Wigham  would  come  over  from  the  Glebe  farm  to  join  the  party, 
and  enter  into  the  lively  scientific  discussions  which  occurred  on 
the  subjects  of  their  mutual  reading.  But  many  of  the  most 
valuable  works  belonging  to  the  Newcastle  Library  were  not 
permitted  to  be  removed  from  the  room ;  these  Robert  was  in- 
structed to  read  and  study,  and  bring  away  with  him  descriptions 
and  sketches  for  his  father's  information.  His  father  also  prac- 
ticed him  in  the  reading  of  plans  and  drawings,  without  at  all 
referring  to  the  written  descriptions.  He  used  to  observe  to  his 
son,  "A  good  drawing  or  plan  should  always  explain  itself;" 
and,  placmg  a  drawing  of  an  engine  or  machine  before  the  youth, 
he  would  say,  "There,  now,  describe  that  to  me — the  arrange- 
ment and  the  action."  Thus  he  taught  him  to  read  a  drawing 
as  easily  as  he  would  read  a  page  of  a  book.  This  practice  soon 
gave  to  both  the  greatest  facility  in  apprehending  the  details  of 
even  the  most  difficult  and  complicated  mechanical  drawing. 

The  son,  like  his  father,  was  very  fond  of  reducing  his  scientific 
reading  to  practice.  On  one  occasion,  after  reading  Franklin's 
description  of  the  lightning  experiment,  he  expended  aU  his 
hoarded  Saturday's  pennies  in  purchasing  about  half  a  mile  of 
copper  wire,  at  a  brazier's  shop  in  Newcastle.  After  privily 
preparing  his  kite,  he  sent  it  up  at  the  cottage  door,  insulating 
the  wire  by  means  of  a  silk  handkerchief.  His  father's  pony  was 
standing  near,  waiting  for  the  master  to  mount.  Bringing  the 
end  of  the  wire  just  over  the  pony's  crupper,  so  smart  an  electric 
shock  was  given  it,  that  the  brute  was  almost  knocked  down.  At 
this  juncture  the  father  issued  from  the  door  with  riding-whip  in 


THE    REV.    MR.    TURNER.  56 

hand,  and  was  witness  to  the  scientific  trick  just  played  off  upon 
his  galloway.  "'Ah!  you  mischievous  scoundrel!"  cried  he  to 
the  boy,  who  ran  off.  But  he  inwai-dly  chuckled  with  pride, 
nevertheless,  at  his  son's  successful  experiment. 

The  connection  of  Robert  with  the  Philosophical  and  Litei-ary 
Society  of  Newcastle  brought  him  into  communication  with  the 
Rev.  William  Turner,  one  of  the  seci-etaries  of  the  institution. 
That  gentleman  was  always  ready  to  assist  the  inquirer  after 
knowledge,  and  took  an  early  interest  in  the  studious  youth  from 
Killingworth,  with  whose  father  also  he  soon  became  acquainted. 
Mr.  Turner  cheerfully  and  even  zealously  helped  them  in  their 
joint  inquiries,  and  excited,  while  he  endeavored  to  satisfy,  their 
eager  thirst  for  scientific  information.  Many  years  afterwards, 
towards  the  close  of  his  life,  Mr.  Stephenson  expressed  most 
warmly  the  gratitude  and  esteem  he  felt  towards  his  revered  in- 
structor. "Mr.  Turner,"  he  said,  "was  always  ready  to  assist 
me  with  books,  with  instruments  and  with  counsel,  gratuitously 
and  cheerfully.  He  gave  me  the  most  valuable  assistance  and 
instruction,  and  to  my  dying  day  I  can  never  forget  the  obhga- 
tions  which  I  owe  to  my  venerable  friend." 

Mr.  Turner's  conduct  towards  George  Stephenson  was  all  the 
more  worthy  of  admiration,  because  at  that  time  the  object  of  his 
friendly  instruction  and  counsel  occupied  but  the  position  of  a 
comparatively  obscure  workman,  of  no  means  or  influence,  who 
had  become  known  to  him  only  through  his  anxious  desire  for 
information  on  scientific  subjects.  He  could  little  have  dreamt 
that  the  object  of  his  almost  fatherly  attention  would  achieve  a 
reputation  so  distinguished  as  that  to  which  he  afterwards 
reached,  and  that  he  would  revolutionize  by  his  inventions  and 
improvements  the  internal  communications  of  the  civilized  world 
The  circumstance  is  encouraging  to  those  who,  like  Mr.  Turner, 
are  still  daily  devoting  themselves  with  equal  disinterestedness 
to  the  education  of  the  working-classes  in  our  schools  and  me- 


j 
56  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON.  I 

i 
chanics'  institutes.     Though  the  opportuiiity  of  lending  a  helping  ' 

hand  to  such  men  as  George  Stephenson  may  but  rarely  occur, 
yet  the   labors  of  such  teachers  are  never  without   excellent  , 

results.  ' 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

THE  BEGINNINGS   OF  RAILWAYS  AND  LOCOMOTIVES. 

Railways,  like  most  other  important  inventions,  had  very 
humble  beginnings.  The  first  railway,  properly  so  called,  con- 
sisted of  a  rude  line  of  wooden  or  iron  rails,  laid  down  for  the 
easier  guidance  of  wagons  in  which  coal  was  hauled  from  the  pit 
to  the  shipping  place.  This  germ  of  the  modern  railroad,  planted 
by  some  unknown  hand,  grew  to  maturity  gradually  and  slowly. 
Progress,  in  this  as  in  almost  all  branches  of  mechanics,  was 
effected  through  the  exertions  of  many ;  one  generation  entering 
upon  the  labors  of  that  which  preceded  it,  and  carrying  onward 
their  improvements. 

There  is,  doubtless,  a  vast  difference  between  the  old  road 
track,  on  which  pack-horses  carried  the  main  traffic  of  the 
country  down  to  a  comparatively  recent  date,  and  the  modern 
railroad  worked  by  powerful  locomotives :  yet  the  change  was 
effected  by  comparatively  easy  stages.  From  an  early  period 
the  growing  trade  and  commerce  of  the  country  demanded  con- 
stantly increased  facilities  for  the  transport  of  heavy  articles. 
This  was  especially  necessary  in  the  mining  districts,  where  it  is 
to  be  observed  that  nearly  all  the  modern  improvements  in  road- 
making  have  had  their  origin.*     The  prime  object  of  all  the 

*  "  We  owe,"  said  Captain  Laws,  "  all  our  railways  to  the  collieries  in  the  North ;  and 
the  difiSculty  which  their  industry  overcame,  taught  us  to  make  railways,  and  to  make 
locomotives  to  work  them."'  —  Evidence  upon  the  Gauge  Commission,  1845. 

Co7) 


58  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

improvements  made  in  the  road  was,  so  to  diminish  friction  by 
increasing  the  smoothness  of  the  surface,  that  the  liaulage  of  the 
coal-wagons  by  horses  should  be  rendered  as  easy  as  possible* 
With  this  object,  wooden  rails  were  first  laid  down  by  one 
Master  Beaumont  *  between  his  coal  pits  near  Newcastle,  and 
the  staithes  by  the  river  side,  probably  about  the  year  1G30. 
On  these  rails  a  large  loaded  wagon  could  be  drawn  by  one 
horse. 

The  same  mode  of  transport  was  shortly  after  generally  em- 
ployed in  the  principal  colliery  districts.  Old  Roger  North  thus 
describes  the  railroads  as  they  were  laid  down  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Tyne,  in  1676: 

"Another  remarkable  thing  is  their  way-leaves;  for  when  men 
have  pieces  of  ground  between  the  colliery  and  the  river,  they 
sell  the  leave  to  lead  coal  over  their  gi-ound,  and  so  dear  that  the 
owner  of  a  rood  of  ground  will  expect  20/.  per  annum  for  this 
leave.  The  manner  of  the  carriage  is,  by  laying  rails  of  timber 
from  the  colliery  down  to  the  river  exactly  straight  and  pai-allel, 
and  bulkv  cai'ts  are  made  with  four  rowlets  fitting  these  rails, 
whereby  the  carriage  is  so  easy  that  one  horse  will  draw  down 
some  four  or  five  chaldron  of  coals,  and  is  an  immense  benefit  to 
the  coal  merchants."  f 

A  century  later  (in  1770-1772)  the  same  roads  were  found  in 
general  use  by  Arthur  Young.  The  roadway  was  little  im- 
proved, but  the  works  on  which  the  road  was  formed  were  some- 
times of  a  formidable  character.  Speaking  of  wagon  roads  near 
Newcastle,  Mr.  Young  observes :  "The  coal-wagon  roads,  from 
the  pits  to  the  water,  are  great  works,  carried  over  all  sorts  of 
inequalities  of  ground,  so  far  as  the  distance  of  nine  or  ten  miles. 
The  tracks  of  the  wheels  are  marked  with  pieces  of  wood  let  into 

*  Thja  enterprising  gentleman  expended  not  less  than  30,000/.  in  his  mining  spccula- 
ti'-na,  the  result  of  which  is  described  by  a  local  chrouiclcr,  one  Mr.  Gray,  writing  in 
1649,  who  quaintly  observes,  that  "within  a  few  years  he  consumed  aU  his  money,  and 
rode  home  upon  his  light  horse''' 

1  Roger  North's  Life  of  Lord  Keeper  Guilford,  a.  d.  1676. 


THE    COLLIERY    WAGON    WAYS.  69 

the  road  for  the  wheels  of  the  wagons  to  run  on,  by  which  means 
one  horse  is  enabled  to  draw,  and  that  with  ease,  fifty  or  sixty 
bushels  of  coals."  * 

An  intelligent  French  traveler,  named  Saint-Fond,  who  vis- 
ited Newcastle  in  1791,  speaks  in  tei-ms  of  high  admiration  of  the 
colliery  wagon  ways,  as  superior  to  everything  of  the  kind  that 
he  had  seen.  Pie  describes  the  wooden  rails  as  formed  with  a 
rounded  upper  surface,  like  a  projecting  moulding,  and  the 
wagon  wheels  as  being  "  made  of  cast-iron,  and  hollowed  in  the 
manner  of  a  metal  pulley,"  that  they  might  fit  the  rounded  surface 
of  the  rails.  The  economy  with  which  the  coal  was  thus  hauled 
to  the  shipping  places  was  strongly  urged  upon  his  own  coun- 
trymen, as  an  inducement  to  them  to  adopt  a  similar  mode  of 
transit.f 

Similar  wagon  roads  were  laid  down  in  the  colliery  districts  of 
Scotland  at  a  comparatively  early  period.  At  the  time  of  the 
Scotch  rebellion,  in  1745,  a  railway  existed  between  the  Tranent 
coal  pits  and  the  small  harbor  of  Cockenzie  in  East  Lothian ; 
and  a  portion  of  the  line  had  the  honor  of  being  selected  as  a 
position  for  General  Cope's  cannon  at  the  battle  of  Prestonpans. 

In  these  rude  wooden  tracks  we  find  the  germ  of  the  modern 
railroad.  Improvements  were  gradually  made  in  them.  Thus 
at  some  collieries,  thin  plates  of  ii'on  were  nailed  upon  their  up- 
per surface,  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  parts  most  exposed 
to  friction.  Cast-iron  rails  were  also  tried,  the  wooden  rails  hav- 
ing been  found  liable  to  rot.  The  first  iron  raUs  are  supposed  to 
have  been  laid  do^Ti  at  Whitehaven  as  early  as  1738.  This 
cast-iron  road  was  denominated  a  "plate-way,"  from  the  plate- 
like form  in  which  the  rails  were  cast.  In  1767,  as  appears  from 
the  books  of  the  Coal-brookdale  Ii-on  Works,  in  Shropshire,  five  or 
six  tons  of  rails  were  cast  as  an  experiment,  on  the  suggestion  of 

*  Six  Months'  Tour,  vol.  iii,  p.  9. 

t  Travels  in  England,  Scotland  and  the  Hebrides,  translated  from  the  French,  vol.  i, 
pp.  142-6. 


60  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

Mr.  Reynolds,  one  of  the  partners ;  and  they  were  shortly  after 
laid  down  to  form  a  road.  In  1776,  a  cast-iron  railway,  nailed 
to  wooden  sleepers,  was  laid  down  at  the  Duke  of  Norfolk's  col- 
liery near  Shefheld.  The  person  who  designed  and  constructed 
this  coal  line  was  Mr.  John  Curr,  whose  son  has  erroneously 
claimed  for  him  the  invention  of  the  cast-iron  railway.  He  cer- 
tainly adopted  it  eai'ly,  and  thereby  met  the  fate  of  men  before 
their  age ;  for  his  plan  was  opposed  by  the  laboring  people  of 
the  colliery,  who  got  up  a  riot  in  which  they  tore  up  the  road 
and  burnt  the  coal  staith,  whilst  Mr.  Curr  fled  into  a  neighboring 
wood  for  concealment,  and  lay  there  'perdu  for  tlu-ee  days  and 
nights,  to  escape  the  fury  of  the  populace.*  In  1789,  Mr.  Wm. 
Jessop  constructed  a  railway  at  Loughborough,  in  Leicestershire, 
and  there  introduced  the  cast-iron  edge-rail,  with  flanches  cast 
upon  the  tire  of  the  wagon  wheels  to  keep  them  on  the  track,  in- 
stead of  having  the  margin  or  flanch  cast  upon  the  rail  itself;  and 
this  plan  was  shortly  after  adopted  in  other  places.  In  1800, 
IVIr.  Benjamin  Outram,  of  Little  Eaton  in  Derbyshire,  used  stone 
props  instead  of  timber  for  supporting  the  ends  and  joinings  of 
the  rails.  As  this  plan  was  pretty  generally  adopted,  the  roads 
became  known  as  "Outram  roads,"  and  subsequently,  for  brev- 
ity's sake,  "tram-roads."  From  this  time  the  use  of  tram-roads 
rapidly  extended,  until  at  length  they  were  generally  adopted  in 
the  mining  districts. 

The  progress  of  railways  was,  indeed,  such  that  the  canal  in- 
terests became  somewhat  uneasy  respecting  them.  The  Duke  of 
Bridgewater,  when  congratulated  by  Lord  Kenyon  on  the  suc- 
cessful issue  of  his  scheme,  made  answer,  Avith  far-sighted 
shrewdness — "Yes,  we  shall  do  well  enough  if  we  can  keep 
clear  of  these  d — d  tram-roads — there's  mischief  in  them!"     It 

*  Railway  Locomotion  and  Steam  Navigation,  their  principles  and  practice,  by  John 
Curr,  of  New  South  Wales.  London,  Williams  &  Co.,  1847.  The  author  of  this  book 
was  son  of  the  John  Curr  of  Sheffield,  who  laid  down  the  above  railway,  and  who  also 
■wrote  a  book,  which  was  printed  in  1797,  entitled  "  The  Coal  Viewer  and  Engine  Builder's 
Practi::al  Companion." 


APPLICATION    OF    STEAM    POWER.  61 

will  be  observed,  however,  that  the  improvements  thus  far 
effected  had  been  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  road.  The 
railway  wagons  still  continued  to  be  drawn  by  horses.  The 
gradual  improvements  made  in  the  rail,  by  improving  the  firm- 
ness and  smoothness  of  the  track,  had,  indeed,  effected  consider- 
able economy  in  horse-power;  but  that  was  all.  What  was 
further  wanted  was,  the  adoption  of  some  mechanical  agency 
applicable  to  the  purpose  of  railway  traction.  Unless  some  such 
agency  could  be  invented,  it  was  clear  that  railway  improvement 
had  almost  reached  its  limits.  Inventors  and  projectors,  how- 
ever, presented  themselves  in  numbers,  and  various  schemes 
were  proposed.  One  suggested  the  adoption  of  sails,  supposing 
that  the  wagons  might  be  impelled  along  the  tram-ways  like 
ships  before  the  wind.  *  But  the  most  favorite  scheme  was  the 
appUcation  of  steam  power  on  the  high-pressure  principle,  for  the 
purpose  of  railway  traction. 

Solomon  de  Caus,  who  was  shut  up  for  his  supposed  madness 
in  the  Bicetre  at  Paris,  seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  conceive 
the  idea  of  employing  steam  for  moving  cai'riages  on  land,  as  well 
as  ships  at  sea.  Marion  de  Lorme,  in  a  letter  to  the  Marquis  de 
Cinq-Mars,  dated  Paris,  February,  1641,  thus  describes  a  visit 
paid  to  this  celebrated  mad-house,  in  the  company  of  the  English 
Marquis  of  Worcester :  —  "  We  were  crossing  the  court,  and  I, 
more  dead  than  alive  with  fright,  kept  close  to  my  companion's 
side,  when  a  frightful  face  appeared  behind  some  immense  bars, 
and  a  hoarse  voice  exclaimed,  '  I  am  not  mad !  I  am  not  mad ! 
I  have  made  a  discovery  that  would  enrich  the  country  that 
adopted  it.'   '  What  has  he  discovered  ?'  asked  our  guide.   '  Oh !' 

*  "  Upon  a  long  extent  of  iron  railway,  in  an  open  country,  carriages  properly  con- 
structed might  make  profitable  voyages  from  time  to  time  with  sails  instead  of  horses  ; 
for  though  a  constant  or  regular  intercourse  could  not  be  thus  carried  on,  yet  goods  of  a 
certain  sort,  that  are  saleable  at  any  time,  might  be  staid  till  wind  and  weather  were 
favorable. "  —  Memoirs  of  R.  L.  Edgeivorth,  vol.  i,  p.  153.  Mr.  Edgeworth  made  several 
experimements  with  a  sailing  carriage  of  his  invention  on  Hare  Hatch  Common,  but  the 
fixperiments  were  abandoned  in  consequence  of  the  dangerous  results  which  threatened 
to  attend  them. 


62  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

answered  the  keeper,  shrugging  his  shoulders,  '  something  trifling 
enough :  you  would  never  guess  it ;  it  is  the  use  of  the  stoam  of 
boiling  water.'  I  began  to  laugh.  *  This  man,'  continued  the 
keeper,  '  is  named  Solomon  de  Caus ;  he  came  from  Normandy 
four  years  ago,  to  present  to  the  king  a  statement  of  the  wonder- 
ful effects  that  might  be  produced  from  his  invention.  To  listen 
to  him,  you  would  imagine  that  with  steam  you  could  navigate 
ships,  move  carriages ;  in  fact,  there  is  no  end  to  the  miracles 
which,  he  insists  upon  it,  could  be  performed.  The  Cardinal 
sent  the  madman  away  without  listening  to  him.  Solomon  de 
Caus,  far  from  being  discouraged,  followed  the  Cardinal  wherever 
he  went,  with  the  most  determined  perseverance,  who,  tired  of 
finding  him  forever  in  his  path,  and  annoyed  at  his  folly,  shut 
him  up  in  the  Bicetre.  He  has  even  written  a  book  about  it, 
which  I  have  here.'"*  It  appears  that  the  Marquis  of  Worces- 
ter was  greatly  struck  by  the  appearance  of  De  Caus,  and  after- 
wards studied  his  book,  portions  of  which  he  embodied  in  his 
"  Century  of  Inventions."  The  Marquis  is  also  said  to  have 
entertained  the  idea  of  moving  carriages  by  steam  power,  but 
never  embodied  it  in  any  practical  form. 

Savery,  the  Cornish  miner  and  engineer,  who  did  so  much  to 
develop  the  powers  of  the  high-pressure  engine,  also  proposed  it 
as  a  method  of  propelling  carriages  along  ordinary  roads.  But 
he  took  no  practical  measures  with  the  view  of  carrying  out  his 
suggestion.  The  subject  was  shortly  after,  in  1759,  introduced 
to  the  powerful  mind  of  James  "Watt,  by  Dr.  Robinson,  then  a 
young  man  studying  at  Glasgow  College.  "  He  threw  out,"  says 
Watt,  "  the  idea  of  applying  the  power  of  the  steam-engine  to  the 
moving  of  wheel-carriages,  and  to  other  purposes  ;  but  the  scheme 
was  not  matured,  and  was  soon  abandoned,  on  his  going  abroad."  f 

*  The  book  is  entitled  "  Les  Eaisons  dcs  Forces  Mouvantes,  avec  direrses  machines 
tant  utiles  que  puissautes."    Paris,  1615. 

t  Narrative  of  James  Watts's  Invention,  in  Robinson's  Mechanical  Philosophy,  Tol.  ii 
art.  SteaTn-Engine. 


JAMES    WATT'S   PLAN.  63 

Watt  however  afterwards,  in  the  specification  of  his  patent  of 
1769,  gave  a  description  of  an  engine  of  the  kind  suggested  by 
his  friend  Robinson,  in  which  the  expansive  force  of  steam  was 
proposed  as  the  motive  power.  It  also  appears  that  other  invent- 
ors were  in  the  field  about  the  same  time ;  for  in  a  letter  written 
by  Dr.  Small  to  Mr.  Watt,  on  the  18th  of  April,  1769,  it  is  stated 
that  "  one  Moore,  a  linen-draper  of  London,  had  taken  out  a 
patent  for  moving  wheel-carriages  by  steam ; "  *  but  no  steps  were 
taken  to  reduce  the  invention  to  practice.  Watt  again,  in  his 
patent  of  1784,  described  a  similar  engine  to  that  indicated  in  his 
first  patent,  specifying  the  mode  of  applying  steam  to  the  moving 
of  wheel-carriages.  The  plan  proposed  by  Watt,  although  a 
curiosity  at  the  present  day,  bears  the  impress  of  his  original 
mind.  The  boiler  was  to  be  of  wooden  staves,  hooped  together 
with  iron ;  the  iron  furnace  inside  the  boiler,  and  almost  entirely 
surrounded  with  water ;  the  whole  being  placed  on  a  carriage, 
the  wheels  of  which  were  to  be  worked  by  a  piston,  the  recipro- 
catory  action  being  converted  into  a  rotary  one  by  toothed  wheels 
and  a  sun  and  planet  motion.  The  cylinder  was  to  be  seven 
inches  in  diameter,  the  number  of  strokes  sixty  per  minute,  and 
their  length  one  foot.  The  carriage  was  to  carry  two  persons. 
But  no  such  carriage  was  ever  built.  Watt  being  too  busily  occu- 
pied with  the  perfecting  of  his  condensing  engine  to  proceed 
further  with  his  proposed  locomotive. 

The  fii'st  actual  model  of  a  steam-carriage,  of  which  we  have 
any  written  account,  was  constructed  by  a  Frenchman  named 
Cugnot,  who  exhibited  it  before  the  Marshal  de  Saxe  in  1763.t 
He  afterwards  built  an  engine  on  the  same  model,  at  the  cost  of 
the  French  monarch.  But  when  set  in  motion,  it  projected  itself 
onward  with  such  force,  that  it  knocked  down  a  wall  which  stood 
in  its  way ;  and  its  power  being  considered  too  great  for  ordinary 

•  The  Mechanical  Inventions  of  James  Watt,  by  J.  P.  Muirhead,  M.A. 
t  Stuart's  Historical  and  Descriptive  Anecdotes  of  Steam-Engines,  and  of  their  Invent- 
ors and  Improvers,  pp.  208,  209. 


64  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

use,  it  was  put  aside  as  being  a  dangerous  machine,  and  was 
stowed  away  in  the  Arsenal  Museum  at  Paris.* 

An  American  inventor,  named  Oliver  Evans,  was  also  occupied 
with  the  same  idea ;  for,  in  1772,  he  invented  a  steam-carriage  to 
travel  on  common  roads  ;  and  in  1787  he  obtained  from  the  State 
of  Maryland  the  exclusive  right  to  make  and  use  steam-carriages. 
His  invention,  however,  never  came  into  practical  use. 

It  also  appears  that,  in  1784,  "WiUiam  Symington,  the  inventor 
of  the  steam-boat,  conceived  the  idea  of  employing  steam  power 
in  the  propulsion  of  carriages;  and  in  1786  he  had  a  working 
model  of  a  steam-carriage  constructed,  which  he  submitted  to  the 
professors  and  other  scientific  gentlemen  of  Edinburgh.  But  the 
state  of  the  Scotch  roads  was  at  that  time  so  horrible,  that  he 
considered  it  impracticable  to  proceed  further  with  his  scheme, 
and  he  shortly  gave  it  up  in  favor  of  his  project  of  steam-navi- 
gation.f 

The  first  English  model  of  a  steam-carriage  was  made  in  1784, 
by  William  Murdoch,  the  friend  and  assistant  of  Watt.  It  was 
on  the  high-pressure  principle,  and  ran  on  three  wheels.  The 
boiler  was  heated  by  a  spirit-lamp ;  and  the  whole  machine  was 
of  very  diminutive  dimensions,  standing  little  more  than  a  foot 
high.  Yet,  on  one  occasion,  the  little  engine  went  so  fast  that  it 
outran  the  speed  of  its  inventor.  Mr.  Buckle  J  says,  that  one 
night,  after  returning  from  his  duties  in  the  mine  at  Redruth,  in 
Cornwall,  Murdoch  determined  to  try  the  working  of  his  model 
locomotive.  For  this  purpose,  he  had  recourse  to  the  walk  lead- 
ing to  the  church,  about  a  mile  from  the  town.  The  walk  was 
rather  narrow,  and  was  bounded  on  either  side  by  high  edges.   It 

*  It  is  now  preserved  in  the  Conservatoire  des  Arts  et  Metiers. 

t  See  a  pamphlet  entitled  "A  Brief  Narrative,  proving  the  Right  of  the  late  William 
Symington,  Civil  Engineer,  to  be  considered  the  Inventor  of  Steam  Land  Carriage  Loco- 
motion ;  and  also  the  Inventor  and  Introducer  of  Steam  Navigation. "  By  Robert  Bowie. 
London :  Sherwood,  Gilbert  and  Piper,  1833. 

t  Biographical  paper  on  William  Murdoch,  read  by  Mr.  William  Buckle,  of  Soho,  before 
the  Institute  of  Mechanical  Engineers,  October,  1850. . 


THOMAS    ALhEN's    PLAN.  65 

was  a  dark  night,  and  Murdoch  set  out  alone  to  try  his  experi- 
ment. Having  lit  his  lamp,  the  water  shortly  began  to  boil,  and 
off  started  the  engine  with  the  inventor  after  it.  He  soon  heard 
distant  shouts  of  despair.  It  was  too  dark  to  perceive  objects  ; 
but  he  shortly  found,  on  following  up  the  machine,  that  the  cries 
for  assistance  proceeded  from  the  worthy  pastor  of  the  parish, 
who,  going  towards  the  town  on  business,  was  met  on  this  lonely 
road  by  the  hissing  and  fiery  little  monster,  which  he  subsequent- 
ly declaimed  he  had  taken  to  be  the  Evil  One  in  propria  persona. 
No  further  steps,  however,  were  taken  by  Murdoch  to  embody 
his  idea  of  a  locomotive  carriage  in  a  more  practical  form. 

A  few  years  later,  in  1789,  one  Thomas  Allen,  of  London, 
published  "  A  Plan  of  a  new-invented  Machine  to  convey  goods, 
merchandise,  passengers,  etc.,  from  one  place  to  another,  without 
horses,  and  by  the  power  or  force  of  steam  only."  Mr.  Allen 
proceeded  upon  the  idea,  that  if  steam  could  be  applied  to  the 
turning  of  wheels  for  one  purpose,  such  as  grinding  corn,  it  could 
for  another,  such  as  the  haulage  of  cai'riages.  From  liis  Plan, 
which  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  New- 
castle-upon-Tyne,* it  appeal's  that  he  intended  the  wheels  of  his 
machine  to  be  cogged,  and  that  he  anticipated  a  speed  upon  a 
common  road  of  "  somewhat  better  than  ten  miles  an  hour."  The 
plan,  however,  was  a  very  crude  one,  and  not  even  a  model  of 
the  machine  seems  to  have  been  made. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  last  century,  the  adoption  of  rail  and 
tram-roads,  worked  by  horses,  had  become  general  in  the  colliery 
and  mining  districts.  There  could  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  great 
economy  secured  by  this  mode  of  moving  heavy  loads,  as  com- 
pared with  the  ordinary  method  of  haulage  on  common  roads. 
As  trade  and  manufactures  were  extending  with  great  rapidity — 
Watt's  'invention  of  the  steam-engine  having  given  an  immense 
impetus  to  industry  in  all  its  branches — it  was  proposed  to  extend 

*  Presented  by  Lord  Ravensworth,  August  6th,  1S56. — Proceedings  of  Society  of  An- 
tiquaries of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  toI.  i,  p.  152. 


66  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

the  application  of  railroads  to  the  transit  of  merchandise  and 
goods  from  town  to  town,  especially  in  those  districts  where  caDals 
were  not  considered  practicable.  The  first  suggestion  to  this 
effect  was  published  by  a  Northumbrian  gentleman,  who  was 
daily  familiar  with  the  working  of  the  extensive  coal  traffic  over 
the  railways  in  the  neighborhood  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  On 
the  11th  of  February,  1800,  Mr.  Thomas,  of  Denton,  read  a 
paper  on  the  subject  before  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Soci- 
ety of  Newcastle,  entitled  "  Observations  on  the  propriety  of 
introducing  Roads  on  the  principle  of  the  Coal  Wagon  Ways,  for 
the  general  carriage  of  Goods,  Merchandise,  etc."  * 

In  the  course  of  the  following  year,  the  same  idea  was  taken 
up  by  Dr.  James  Anderson,  of  Edinburgh,  who  proposed,  in  his 
"  Recreations  of  Agriculture,"  the  general  adoption  of  railways, 
Avorked  by  horse-power,  to  be  carried  along  the  existing  turnpike 
roads.  Dr.  Anderson  dilated  upon  his  idea  with  glowing  enthu- 
siasm. "  Diminish  carriage  expense  but  one  farthing,"  said  he, 
"  and  you  widen  the  circle  of  intercourse ;  you  form,  as  it  were, 
a  new  creation,  not  only  of  stones  and  earth,  and  trees  and  plants, 
but  of  men  also,  and,  what  is  more,  of  industry,  happiness,  and 
joy."  The  cost  of  all  articles  of  human  consumption  would,  he 
alleged,  be  thus  reduced,  agriculture  promoted,  distances  dimin- 
ished, the  country  bi'ought  nearer  to  the  tow^l,  and  the  to'mi 
to  the  country.  The  number  of  horses  required  to  carry  on  the 
traffic  of  the  kingdom  would  be  greatly  diminished,  and  a  general 
prosperity  would,  he  msisted,  be  the  result  of  the  adoption  of  his 
system.  "  Indeed,"  said  he,  "  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  contem- 
plate an  institution  from  which  would  result  a  greater  quantity 
of  harmony,  peace,  and  comfort,  to  persons  living  in  the  country, 
than  would  naturally  result  from  the  introduction  of  railroads." 

That  the  same  idea  was  taking  hold  of  the  more  advanced 
minds  of  the  country,  is  further  evident  from  the  fact,  that  in  the 
following  year  (1802)  Mr.  Edgeworth  urged   the  adoption  of  a 

*  Minute  Books  of  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of  Xewcastle,  1800. 


TREVETHICK   AND    YIVIAN'S    PATENT.  67 

similar  plan  for  the  transit  of  passengers.  "  Stage-coaches,"  he 
said,  "  might  be  made  to  go  at  six  miles  an  hour,  and  post-chaises 
and  gentlemen's  traveling  carriages  at  eight — both  with  one  horse; 
and  small  stationary  steam-engines,  placed  from  distance  to  dis- 
tance, might  be  made,  by  means  of  circulating  (^lains,  to  draw  the 
carriages,  with  a  great  diminution  of  horse-labor  and  expense." 

While  this  discussion  was  going  forward,  Richard  Trevethick, 
a  captain  in  a  Cornish  tin  mine,  and  a  pupil  of  William  Mur- 
doch's— influenced,  no  doubt,  by  the  successful  action  of  the  model 
engine  which  the  latter  had  constructed — determined  to  build  a 
steam-carriage  adapted  for  use  on  common  roads.  He  took  out 
a  patent,  to  secure  the  right  of  his  invention,  in  the  year  1802. 
Andrew  Vivian,  his  cousin,  joined  with  him  in  the  patent — Vivian 
finding  the  money,  and  Trevethick  the  brains.  The  patent  was 
dated  the  24th  March,  1802,  and  described  as  "A  grant  unto 
Richard  Trevethick  and  Andrew  Vivian,  of  the  parish  of  Cran- 
bourne,  in  the  county  of  Cornwall,  engineers  and  miners,  for  their 
invented  methods  of  improving  the  construction  of  steam-engines, 
and  the  application  thereof  for  driving  cai-riages,  and  for  other 
purposes."  *  The  steam-carriage  built  by  Trevethick  on  this 
patent  presented  the  appearance  of  an  ordinary  stage-coach  on 
four  wheels.  It  had  one  horizontal  cylinder,  which,  together  with 
the  boiler  and  the  furnace-box,  was  placed  in  the  rear  of  the  hind 
axle.  The  motion  of  the  piston  was  transmitted  to  a  sepai-ate 
crank-axle,  from  which,  through  the  medium  of  spur-gear,  the 
axle  of  the  driving-wheel  (which  was  mounted  with  a  fly-wheel) 
derived  its  motion.  It  is  also  worthy  of  note,  that  the  steam- 
cocks  and  the  force-pump,  as  also  the  bellows  used  for  the  pur- 
pose of  quickening  combustion  in  the  fm-nace,  were  worked  off 
the  same  crank-axle. 

This  was  the  first  successful  high-pressure  engine  constructed 
on  the  principle  of  moving  a  piston  by  the  elasticity  of  steam 
against  the  pressure  only  of  the  atmosphere.     Such  an  engine 

♦  The  number  of  the  patent  in  the  Record  of  Patents  Office  is  2599. 


68  LIFE  OF    GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

had  been  described  by  Leopold,  though  in  his  apparatus  the 
pressure  acted  only  on  one  side  of  the  piston.  In  Trevethick 
and  Vivian's  engine,  the  piston  was  not  only  raised,  but  was  also 
depressed  by  the  action  of  the  steam,  being  in  this  respect  an 
entirely  original  invention,  and  of  great  raerit.  The  steam  was 
admitted  from  the  boiler  under  the  piston  moving  in  a  cylinder, 
impelling  it  upward.  When  the  motion  had  reached  its  limit, 
the  communication  between  the  piston  and  the  under  side  was 
shut  off,  and  the  steam  allowed  to  escape  into  the  atmosphere. 
A  passage  was  then  opened  between  the  boiler  and  the  upper 
side  of  the  piston,  which  was  pressed  downwards,  and  the  steam 
again  allowed  to  escape  into  the  atmosphere.  Thus  the  power 
of  the  engine  was  equal  to  the  difference  between  the  pressure 
of  the  atmosphere  and  the  elasticity  of  the  steam  in  the  boiler. 

This  first  steam-carriage  adapted  for  actual  use  on  common 
roads,  was,  on  the  whole,  tolerably  successful.  It  excited  con- 
siderable interest  in  the  remote  district,  near  to  the  Land's  End, 
where  it  had  been  constructed.  Being  so  far  removed  from  the 
great  movements  and  enterprise  of  the  commercial  world,  Treve- 
thick and  Vivian  determined  upon  exhibiting  then-  machine  in 
the  metropolis,  with  a  view,  if  possible,  to  its  practical  adoption 
for  the  purpose  intended.  In  furtherance  of  this  object,  they  set 
out  Avith  the  locomotive  to  Plymouth,  whence  a  sea-captain, 
named  Vivian,  was  to  convey  it  in  his  vessel  to  town.  Cole- 
ridge relates,  that  whilst  the  vehicle  was  proceeding  along  the 
road  towards  the  port,  at  the  top  of  its  speed,  and  had  just  car- 
ried away  a  portion  of  the  rails  of  a  gentleman's  garden,  Andrew 
Vivian  descried  ahead  of  them  a  closed  toll-gate,  and  called  out 
to  Trevethick,  who  was  behind,  to  slacken  speed.  He  imme- 
diately shut  off  the  steam ;  but  the  momentum  was  go  great,  that 
the  carriage  proceeded  some  distance,  coming  dead  up,  however, 
just  on  the  right  side  of  the  gate,  which  was  opened  Uke  light- 
ning by  the  toll-keeper.  "What  have  us  got  to  pay  here?" 
asked  Vivian.     The  poor  toU-man,  trembling  in  every  limb,  his 


TRIAL  OF  TREVETHICK  S  LOCOMOTIVE.        69 

teeth  chattering  in  his  head,  essayed  a  reply — "Na-na-na-na" — 
"What  have  us  got  to  pay,  I  say ?"  " No-noth-nothing  to  pay! 
My  de-dear  Mr.  Devil,  do  drive  on  as  fast  as  you  can !  nothing 
to  pay ! " 

The  carriage  safely  reached  the  metropolis,  and  was  there 
j^ublicly  exhibited  in  an  Jinclosed  piece  of  ground  near  Euston 
Square,  where  the  London  and  Northwestern  Station  now 
stands ;  and  it  dragged  behind  it  a  wheel-carriage  full  of  pas- 
sengers. On  the  second  day  of  the  performance,  crowds  flocked 
to  see  the  machine ;  but  Trevethick,  in  one  of  his  odd  freaks, 
shut  up  the  place,  and  shortly  after  removed  the  engine.  While 
in  the  metropolis  he  secured  the  support  of  Lord  Stanhope, 
Davies  Gilbert,  and  other  distinguished  men.  Sir  Humphry 
Davy  took  much  interest  in  the  invention  of  his  countryman,  and, 
writing  to  his  friend  David  Giddy,  in  Cornwall,  shortly  after  the 
machine  had  reached  town,  he  said — "I  shall  hope  soon  to  hear 
that  the  roads  of  England  are  the  haunts  of  Captain  Trevethick's 
dragons — a  characteristic  name."  It  was  felt,  however,  that  the 
badness  of  the  English  roads  at  the  time  rendered  it  next  to  im- 
possible to  bring  the  steam-carriage  into  general  use ;  so  that, 
after  having  been  successfully  exhibited  as  a  curiosity,  it  was 
abandoned  by  Trevethick  as  a  practical  failure. 

Li  the  year  following  the  exhibition  of  the  steam-carriage,  a 
gentleman  was  laying  heavy  wagers  as  to  the  weight  which  could 
be  hauled  by  a  single  horse  on  the  Wadsworth  and  Croydon  iron 
tram-way ;  and  the  number  and  weight  of  wagons  drawn  by  the 
horse  were  something  surprising.  Trevetluck  very  probably  put 
the  two  tlihigs  together — the  steam-horse  and  the  iron-way — 
and  proceeded  to  construct  his  second  or  railway  locomotive. 
The  idea,  however,  was  not  entirely  new  to  him ;  for  although 
his  first  steam-carriage  had  been  constructed  with  a  view  to  its 
employment  on  common  roads,  the  specification  of  his  patent  dis- 
tinctly alludes  to  the  application  of  his  engine  to  traveling  on 
raih-oads.     In  1804  he  proceeded  to  construct  a  locomotive  after 


TO  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

an  improved  plan  for  this  special  purpose ;  and  in  the  course  of 
the  same  year  it  was  completed,  and  tried  on  the  Merthyr  Tydvil 
Eailway  in  South  Wales.     On  the  occasion  of  its  first  trial,  the 
engine  succeeded  in  dragging  after  it  several  wagons  containing 
ten  tons  of  bar-iron,  at  the  rate  of  about  five  miles  an  hour. 
The  boiler  of  this  engine  was  cylindrical,  flat  at  the  ends,  and 
constructed  of  cast-iron.     The  fui'nace  and  flue  were  inside  the 
boiler,    within    which   the  single   cylinder,   of   eight   inches   in 
diameter  and  four  feet  six  inches  stroke,  was  immersed  upright. 
As  in  the  first  engine,  the  motion  of  the  wheels  was  produced  by 
spur-gear,  to  which  was  also  added   a  fly-wheel  on  one  side. 
The  waste  steam  was  thrown  into  the  chimney  through  a  tube 
into  it  at  right  angles ;  but  it  will  be  obvious  that  this  arrange- 
ment was  not  calculated  to  produce  any  result  in  the  way  of  a 
steam-blast  in  the  chimney.     In  fact,  the  waste  steam  seems  to 
have  been  turned  into  the  chimney  in  order  to  get  rid  of  the 
nuisance  caused  by  throwing  the  jet  directly  mto  the  air.    Treve- 
thick  was  here  hovering  on  the  verge  of  a  great  discovery ;  but 
that  he  was  not  aware  of  the  action  of  the  blast  in  contributing 
to  increase  the  draught,  and  thus  quicken  combustion,  is  clear, 
from  the  fact  that  he  employed  bellows  for  this  sjiecial  purpose ; 
and  at  a  much  later  date  (in  1815)  he  took  out  a  patent  which 
included  a  method  of  urging  the  fire  by  means  of  fanners. 

Although  the  locomotive  tried  upon  the  Merthyr  Tydvil  Rail- 
way succeeded  in  drawing  a  considerable  weight,  and  traveled  at 
a  fair  speed,  it  nevertheless  proved,  like  the  first  steam-carriage, 
a  practical  failure.  It  was  never  employed  to  do'regular  work, 
but  was  abandoned  after  a  few  experiments.  Its  jolting  motion 
champed  up  the  cast-iron  road,  which  was  little  calculated  to 
bear  so  heavy  a  weight — though  it  was  very  light  as  compared 
with  modern  engines — and  it  was  consequently  dismounted  from 
its  wheels,  and  the  engine  was  subsequently  fixed  and  used  to 
pump  one  of  the  largest  pumps  on  the  mine,  for  which  work  it 
was  found  well  adapted. 


THE    TOOTHED-RAIL.  71 

Trevethick  was  satisfied  witli  merely  making  a  few  experi- 
ments with  his  steam  carriage  and  engine ;  and  being  a  volatile 
geniifs,  fond  of  new  projects,  he  seems  to  have  thought  no  more 
of  the  locomotive,  but  left  it  to  take  care  of  itself  Yet  his  ma- 
chine, although  unfitted  for  actual  work,  was  a  highly  meritorious 
production,  and  its  invention  may  be  said  to  constitute  an  import- 
ant link  in  the  history  of  the  mechanism  of  the  steam-engine. 

Trevethick  having  abandoned  the  locomotive  for  more  promis- 
ing schemes,  no  further  progress  was  made  with  it  for  some 
years.  An  imaginary  difficulty  seems  to  have  tended,  amongst 
other  obstacles,  to  prevent  its  adoption  and  impi-ovement.  Tliis 
was  the  supposition  that,  if  any  heavy  weight  were  placed  be- 
hind the  engine,  the  "grip"  or  "bite"  of  the  smooth  wheels  of 
the  locomotive  upon  the  equally  smooth  iron  rail,  must  neces- 
sarily be  so  slight  that  the  wheels  would  slip  round  upon  the 
rail,  and,  consequently,  that  the  machine  would  not  make  any 
progress.  Hence  Trevethick,  in  his  patent,  recommended  that 
the  periphery  of  the  driving-Avheels  should  be  made  rough  by  the 
projection  of  bolts  or  cross-grooves,  so  that  the  adhesion  of  the 
wheels  to  the  road  might  be  secured.  This  plan  was  adopted  in 
Trevethick's  engine  tried  on  the  Merthyr  Tydvil  Railway,  and 
its  progress  must  therefore  necessarily  have  been  a  succession  of 
jolts,  very  trying  to  the  cast-iron  plates  of  the  colliery  tram-road. 

Following  up  the  presumed  necessity  for  a  more  effectual  ad- 
hesion between  the  wheels  and  the  rails  than  that  presented  by 
their  mere  smooth  contact,  Mr.  Blenkinsop,  of  Leeds,  in  1811, 
took  out  a  patent  for  a  racked  or  tooth-rail  laid  along  one  side  of 
the  road,  into  which  the  toothed- wheel  of  his  locomotive  worked 
as  pinions  work  into  a  rack.  The  boiler  of  his  engine  was  sup- 
ported by  a  carriage  with  four  wheels  without  teeth,  and  rested 
immediately  upon  the  axles.  These  wheels  were  entirely  inde- 
pendent of  the  working  parts  of  the  engine,  and  therefore  merely 
supported  its  weight  on  the  rails,  the  progress  being  effected  by 
means  of  the  cogged  wheel  working  into  the  cogged  rail.     The 


72  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

engine  had  two  cylinders  instead  of  one,  as  in  Trevethiek's  en- 
gine. The  invention  of  the  double  cylinder  was  due  to  Matthew 
Murray,  of  Leeds,  one  of  the  best  mechanical  engineers  of  his 
time,  Mr.  Blenkinsop,  who  was  not  himself  a  meclianic,  having 
consulted  him  as  to  all  the  practical  arrangements  of  his  locomo- 
tive. The  connecting-rods  gave  the  motion  to  two  pinions  by 
cranks  at  right-angles  to  each  other ;  these  pinions  communicat- 
ing the  motion  to  the  wheel  which  worked  into  the  toothed-rail. 

Mr.  Blenkinsop's  engines  began  running  on  the  railway  ex- 
tending from  the  Middleton  collieries  to  the  town  of  Leeds,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  three  miles  and  a  half,  on  the  12th  of  August, 
1812.*  They  continued  for  many  years  to  be  one  of  the 
principal  curiosities  of  the  neighborhood,  and  were  visited  by 
strangers  from  all  parts.  Li  the  year  1816,  the  Grand  Duke 
Nicholas  (afterwards  Emperor)  of  Russia  observed  the  working 
of  Blenkinsop's  locomotive  with  curious  interest  and  expressions 
of  no  slight  admiration.  An  engine  dragged  behind  it  as  many 
as  thirty  coal-wagons  at  a  speed  of  about  three  miles  and  a 
quarter  per  hour.  These  engines  continued  for  many  years  to 
be  thus  employed  in  the  haulage  of  coal,  and  furnish  the  first 
instance  of  the  regular  employment  of  locomotive  power  for  com- 
mercial purposes. 

The  Messrs.  Chapman,  of  Newcastle,  in  1812,  endeavored  to 
overcome  the  same  fictitious  difficulty  of  the  want  of  adhesion  be- 
tween the  wheel  and  the  rail,  by  patenting  a  locomotive  to  work 
along  the  road  by  means  of  a  chain  stretched  from  one  end  of  it 
tc  the  other.  This  chain  was  passed  once  round  a  grooved  bar- 
rel-wheel under  the  centre  of  the  engine:  so  that,  when  the 
wheel  turned,  the  locomotive,  as  it  were,  dragged  itself  along  the 
railway.  An  engine,  constructed  after  this  plan,  was  tried  on 
the  Heaton  Railway,  near  Newcastle ;  but  it  was  so  clumsy  in 
its  action,  there  was  so  great  a  loss  of  power  by  friction,  and  it 
was  found  to  be  so  expensive  and  difficult  to  keep  in  repair,  that 

*  Annals  of  Leeds,  toI.  ii,  p.  222. 


THE    WYLAM    WAGON    WAY.  73 

it  was  veiy  soon  abandoned.  Another  remarkable  expedient 
was  adopted  by  Mr.  Brunton  of  the  Butterly  Works,  Derbysliire, 
who,  in  1813,  patented  his  Mechanical  Traveler  to  go  upon  legs, 
working  alternately  like  those  of  a  horse !  *  But  the  engine 
never  got  beyond  the  experimental  state,  for,  in  one  of  its  trials, 
it  unhappily  blew  up  and  killed  several  of  the  bystanders. 
These,  and  other  similar  contrivances  with  the  same  object,  pro- 
jected about  the  same  time,  show  that  invention  was  actively  at 
work,  and  that  many  minds  were  now  anxiously  laboring  to  solve 
the  important  problem  of  locomotive  traction  upon  railways. 

But  the  difficulties  contended  with  by  these  early  inventors, 
and  the  step-by-step  progress  which  they  made,  will  probably  be 
best  illusti'ated  by  the  experiments  conducted  by  Mr.  Blackett, 
of  AYylam,  whose  persevering  efforts  in  some  measure  paved  the 
way  for  the  labors  of  George  Stephenson,  who,  shortly  after  him, 
took  up  the  question  of  steam  locomotion,  and  brought  it  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue. 

The  "NVylam  wagon-way  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  north  of 
England.  Down  to  the  year  1807,  it  was  formed  of  wooden 
spars  or  rails,  laid  down  between  the  colliery  at  Wylam — where 
old  Robert  Stephenson  had  worked — and  the  village  of  Leming- 
ton,  some  four  miles  down  the  Tyne,  where  the  coals  were  loaded 
in  keels  or  barges,  and  floated  down  the  river  past  Newcastle, 
thence  to  be  shipped  for  the  London  market.  Each  chaldron 
wagon  was  originally  drawn  by  one  horse,  Avith  a  man  to  each 
horse  and  wagon.  The  rate  at  which  the  journey  was  performed 
was  so  slow  that  only  two  journeys  were  performed  by  each  man 
and  horse  in  one  day,  and  three  on  the  day  following,  the  driver 
being  allowed  Id.  for  each  journey.  This  primitive  wagon-way 
passed,  as  before  stated,  close  in  front  of  the  cottage  in  which 
George  Stephenson  was  born ;  and  one  of  the  earliest  sights 


*  A  description  of  Mr.  Brunton's  locomotiye  is  given  by  Dr.  Lardner  in  his  work  on 
'  The  Steam  Engine,"  7th  edition,  p.  338. 


74  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

which  met  his  infant  eyes  was  this  wooden  tram-road  worked 
by  horses. 

Mr.  Blackett  was  the  first  colliery  o^vner  in  the  North  who 
took  an  interest  in  the  locomotive  engine.  He  went  so  far  as  to 
order  one  direct  from  Trevethick  to  work  his  wagon-way,  about 
the  year  1811.  The  engine  came  down  to  Newcastle;  but  for 
some  reason  or  other,  perhaps  because  of  the  imperfect  construc- 
tion of  the  wagon-way  as  compared  with  the  weight  of  the  engine, 
it  was  never  put  upon  the  road.  Mr.  Blackett  eventually  sold  it 
to  a  Mr.  Winfield,  of  Gateshead,  by  whom  it  was  employed  for 
many  years  in  blowing  the  cupola  of  his  iron-foundry. 

jMi".  Blackett  had  taken  up  the  wooden  road  in  1808,  and  laid 
down  a  "plate way"  of  cast-iron — a  single  line,  with  sidings. 
The  wagons  continued  to  be  drawn  by  horses ;  but  the  new  iron 
road  proved  so  much  smoother  than  the  former  wooden  one,  that 
one  horse,  instead  of  drawing  one  chaldron  wagon  was  now  en- 
abled to  draw  two.  Still  determined  to  make  the  experiment  of 
working  his  plate-way  by  locomotive  power,  Mr.  Blackett,  in 
1812,  ordered  another  engine,  after  Trevethick's  patent,  which 
had  yet  two  years  to  run.  He  also  resolved  to  employ  the  rack- 
rail  and  toothed  driving-wheel,  like  Blenkinsop's,  and  he  had  the 
road  altered  accordingly.  The  locomotive  was  constructed  by 
Thomas  Waters,  of  Gateshead,  Avho  executed  the  work  for 
Trevethick  on  commission.  This  engine  was  of  the  most  awk- 
ward construction  imaginable.  It  had  a  single  cylinder  six 
inches  in  diameter,  with  a  tly-wheel  working  at  one  side  to  carry 
the  cranks  over  the  dead  points.  The  boiler  was  of  cast-iron. 
Jonathan  Foster,  the  Wylan  engine-wright,  who  superintended 
its  construction,  described  the  machine  to  the  writer  as  havino- 
"  lots  of  pumps,  cog-wheels  and  plugs,  requiring  constant  atten- 
tion while  at  work."  The  weight  of  the  whole  was  about  six 
tons.  When  completed  it  was  conveyed  to  Wjlam  on  a  wagon, 
and  there  mounted  upon  the  wooden  frame  supported  by  four 
pau's  of  wheels,  which  had  previously  been  constructed  for  it. 


MR.    BLACKETT's    locomotive    EXPERIMENTS.  75 

A  barrel  of  water  placed  on  a  rude  frame  supported  by  other 
two  pairs  of  wheels,  served  as  a  tender.  After  a  gi'eat  deal  of 
labor,  the  cumbrous  and  unsightly  machine  was  got  upon  the 
road.  But  the  engine  would  not  move  an  inch !  When  the 
machinery  was  set  in  motion,  Jonathan  Foster  says,  "  She  flew 
all  to  pieces,  and  it  was  the  biggest  wonder  i'  the  world  that  we 
were  not  all  blewn  up."  The  useless  engine  was  taken  oflf  the 
road  and  sold ;  and  Mr.  Blackett's  efforts  were  thus  far  in  vain. 

He  was  still,  however,  desirous  of  testing  the  practicability  of 
employing  locomotive  power  in  railway  traction,  and  he  deter- 
mined upon  making  yet  another  trial.  Accordingly,  he  proceeded 
to  build  another  engine,  under  his  own  and  Jonathan  Foster's 
immediate  inspection,  in  the  Wylam  work-shops.  The  new 
engine  had  a  single  eight-inch  cylinder,  and  was  fitted  with  a 
fly-wheel ;  the  driving-wheel  on  one  side  being  cogged,  in  order 
to  enable  it  to  travel  in  the  rack-rail.  This  engine  proved  more 
successful  than  its  predecessors.  Although  it  was  clumsy  and 
unsightly,  it  was  found  capable  of  dragging  eight  or  nine  loaded 
wagons  down  to  the  shipping-place  at  Lemington.  Its  weight 
was,  however,  too  great  for  the  road,  and  the  cast-iron  plates 
were  constantly  breaking. 

Although  this  new  locomotive  was  considered  by  ]Mr.  Blackett 
to  be  an  improvement  upon  horse  traction,  its  working  was  by  no 
means  satisfactory.  It  crept  along  at  a  snail's  pace,  sometimes 
taking;  six  hours  to  travel  the  five  miles  dovm.  to  the  loading- 
place.  It  was  also  very  apt  to  get  off  the  rack-rail,  and  then  it 
stuck.  On  these  occasions,  the  horses  had  to  be  sent  out  to  di-ag 
on  the  wagons,  as  before.  The  engine  itself,  constructed  by  in- 
competent workmen,  often  broke  down ;  its  plugs,  pumps,  or 
cranks  got  wrong ;  and  then  the  horses  were  sent  out  to  drag  it 
back  to  the  shop.  Indeed,  it  became  so  cranky,  that  the  horses 
were  very  frequently  sent  out  following  the  engine,  to  be  in 
readiness  to  draw  it  along  when  it  gave  up ;  and  at  length  the 
workmen  declared  it  to  be  "a  perfect  plague." 


76  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

Mr.  Blackett  did  not  obtain  any  credit  amongst  his  neighbors 
for  these  expensive  experiments.  Many  laughed  at  his  machines, 
regarding  them  only  in  the  light  of  costly  crotchets — frequently 
quoting  the  proverb  of  "  A  fool  and  his  money."  Others  regarded 
them  as  absurd  innovations  on  the  established  method  of  hauling 
coal ;  and  j^ronounced  that  they  would  "  never  answer."  To 
some,  indeed,  they  were  the  cause  of  considerable  apprehension 
and  alarm. 

A  story  is  still  current  at  Wylam,  of  a  stranger  who  was  pro- 
ceeding one  dark  evening  down  the  High  Street  Road,  as  the 
"Black  Billy"  (for  so  the  locomotive  was  called)  was  seen 
advancing,  puffing  and  snorting  its  painful  and  laborious  way  up 
from  Newburn.  The  stranger  had  never  heard  of  the  new  engine, 
and  was  almost  frightened  out  of  his  senses  at  its  approach.  An 
uncouth  monster  it  must  have  looked,  coming  flaming  on  in  the 
dark,  working  its  piston  up  and  down  like  a  huge  arm,  snorting 
out  loud  blasts  of  steam  from  either  nostril,  and  throwing  out 
smoke  and  fire  as  it  panted  along.  No  wonder  that  the  stranger 
rushed  terrified  through  the  hedge,  fled  across  the  fields,  and 
called  out  to  the  first  person  he  met  that  he  had  just  encountered 
"  a  terrible  deevil  on  the  High  Street  Road." 

Notwithstanding  the  comparative  failure  of  his  locomotive  thus 
far,  Mr.  Blackett  persevered  with  his  experiments.  About  1813 
he  took  out  a  patent,  in  the  name  of  William  Iledley,  his  viewer, 
for  a  frame  on  four  wheels,  on  which  to  mount  the  locomotive 
engine.  One  of  the  first  experiments  which  he  made  with  this 
frame  was,  to  test  the  adhesion  of  the  smooth  wheels  of  a  carriage, 
properly  weighted,  upon  the  smooth  rails  of  the  road.  Six  men 
were  placed  upon  the  frame,  which  was  fitted  up  with  windlasses, 
attached  by  gearing  to  the  several  wheels.  When  the  men  were 
set  to  work  the  windlasses,  Mr.  Blackett  found  that  the  adhesion 
of  the  wheels  on  the  smooth  rails  w^as  sufficient  to  enable  them  to 
propel  the  machine  without  slipping.  Having  then  found  the 
proportion  which  the  power  bore  to  the  weight,  he  demonstrated, 


MR.    BLACKETT's    locomotive    EXPERIMENTS.  77 

by  successive  experiments,  that  the  -weight  of  the  engine  would 
of  itself  produce  sufficient  adhesion  to  enable  it  to  drag  after  it, 
on  a  smooth  tram-road,  the  requisite  number  of  wagons  in  all 
kinds  of  weathei*.  Thus  was  the  fallacy  which  had  heretofore 
prevailed  on  this  subject  completely  dissipated,  and  it  was  satis- 
factorily proved  that  rack-rails,  toothed-wheels,  endless  chains, 
and  legs,  were  alike  unnecessary  for  the  efficient  traction  of 
loaded  wagons  upon  a  moderately  level  road. 

As  may  readily  be  imagined,  the  jets  of  steam  from  the  piston, 
blowing  off  into  the  air  at  high  pressure  while  the  engine  was  in 
motion,  caused  considerable  annoyance  to  horses  passing  along 
the  Wylam  road,  at  that  time  a  public  highway.  The  nuisance 
was  felt  to  be  almost  intolerable,  and  a  neighboring  gentleman 
threatened  to  have  it  put  down.  To  diminish  the  nuisance  as 
much  as  possible,  Mr.  Blackett  gave  orders  that  so  soon  as  any 
horse,  or  vehicle  drawn  by  horses,  came  in  sight,  the  locomotive 
was  to  be  stopped,  and  the  frightful  blast  of  the  engine  thus  sus- 
pended until  the  passing  animals  had  got  out  of  sight.  Much 
interruption  was  caused  to  the  working  of  the  railway  by  this 
measure ;  and  it  excited  considerable  dissatisfaction  amongst  the 
workmen.  The  following  plan  was  adopted  to  abate  the  nuis- 
ance :  A  reservoir  was  provided  immediately  behind  the  cliimney, 
into  which  the  waste  steam  was  thrown  after  it  had  performed  its 
office  in  the  cylinder ;  and  from  this  reservoir,  the  steam  gradu- 
ally escaped  into  the  atmosphere  without  noise.*  This  arrange- 
ment was  devised  expressly  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  any 
blast  in  the  chimney,  the  value  of  which  was  not  detected  until 
George  Stephenson,  adopting  it  with  a  preconceived  design  and 
purpose,  demonstrated  its  importance  and  value — as  beiag,  in 
fact,  tbe  very  life-breath  of  the  locomotive  engine. 

*  A  drawing  of  the  Wj'lam  engine  is  giyen  in  the  first  edition  of  Nicholas  Wood's  Trea- 
tise on  Railroads,  1825.  The  engine  was  placed  on  eight  wheels,  having  seven  rack-wheels 
working  inside  them,  distributing  the  motion ;  while  a  barrel  fixed  behind  the  engine  on 
two  other  wheels,  contained  the  water — an  exceedingly  clumsy,  uncouth-looking  machine. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

GEORGE  STEPHENSON'S  FIRST  LOCOMOTIVES. 

While  Mr.  Blackett  was  thus  experimenting  and  building 
locomotives  at  Wylam,  George  Stej)henson  was  anxiously  bi*ood- 
ing  over  the  same  subject  at  Killingworth.  He  was  no  sooner 
appointed  engine-wright  of  the  collieries,  than  his  attention  was 
directed  to  the  more  economical  haulage  of  the  coal  from  the  pits 
to  the  river  side.  We  have  seen  that  one  of  the  first  impoi-tant 
improvements  which  he  made,  after  being  placed  in  charge  of 
the  colliery  machinery,  was  to  apply  the  surplus  power  of  a 
pumping  steam-engine,  fixed  under  ground,  for  the  purpose  of 
drawing  the  coals  out  of  the  deeper  workings  of  the  Killingworth 
mmes — by  which  he  succeeded  in  effecting  a  large  reduction  in 
the  expenditure  on  manual  and  horse  labor. 

The  coals,  when  brought  above  ground,  had  next  to  be  labori- 
ously dragged  by  means  of  horses  to  the  shipping  staiths  on  the 
Tyne,  several  miles  distant.  The  adoption  of  a  tram-road,  it  is 
true,  had  tended  to  facilitate  their  transit ;  nevertheless,  the  haul- 
age was  both  tedious  and  expensive.  With  the  view  of  econo- 
mizing labor,  inclined  planes  were  laid  down  by  Mr.  Stephenson, 
where  the  nature  of  the  ground  would  admit  of  this  expedient 
being  adopted.  Thus,  a  train  of  fuU  wagons  let  down  the  incline 
by  means  of  a  rope  running  over  wheels  laid  along  the  tram-road, 
the  other  end  of  which  was  attached  to  a  train  of  empty  wagons 
placed  at  the  bottom  of  the  parallel  road  on  the  same  incline, 

(78) 


BLENKINSOP'S    LEEDS   ENGINE.  79 

dragged  them  up  by  the  simple  power  of  gravity — an  exceedingly 
economical  mode  of  working  the  traffic.  But  this  applied  only  to 
a  comparatively  small  portion  of  the  entire  length  of  road.  An 
economical  method  of  working  the  coal  trains,  instead  of  by  means 
of  horses — the  keep  of  which  was  at  the  time  very  costly  in  con- 
sequence of  the  high  price  of  corn — was  still  a  great  desideratum ; 
and  the  best  practical  minds  in  the  collieries  were  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  attempt  to  solve  the  problem.  Although  Mr. 
Stephenson  from  an  early  period  entertained  and  gave  utterance 
to  his  sanguine  speculations  as  to  the  "  traveling  engine,"  this  was 
his  first  practical  object  in  studying  it,  and  endeavoring  to  make 
it  an  effective  power ;  and  he  now  proceeded  to  devote  the  entire 
energy  of  his  strong  practical  intellect  to  the  subject. 

First,  he  endeavored  to  make  himself  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  what  had  already  been  done.  Mr.  Blackett's  engines  were 
working  daily  at  Wylam,  past  the  cottage  in  which  he  had  been 
born  ;  and  thitlier  he  frequently  went,  sometimes  in  the  company 
of  Nicholas  Wood,  to  inspect  Trevethick's  patent  engine,  and 
observe  the  improvements  which  were  from  to  time  made  by  Mr. 
Blackett,  both  in  the  locomotive  and  in  the  plate-way  along  which 
it  worked.  He  carefully  inspected  the  "  Black  Billy,"  with  its 
single  cylinder  and  fly-wheel,  its  pumps,  plugs,  and  spur  gear. 
After  mastering  its  arrangements  and  observing  the  working  of 
the  machine,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  declare  to  Jonathan  Foster, 
on  the  spot,  his  firm  conviction  that  he  could  make  a  much  better 
engine  than  Trevethick's  —  one  that  would  draw  steadier  and 
work  more  cheaply  and  effectively. 

In  the  meantime,  he  had  also  the  advantage  of  seeing  one  of 
Blenkinsop's  Leeds  engines,  constructed  by  Fenton  Murray  and 
Wood,  of  that  town.  The  engine  was  a  very  excellent  piece  of 
workmanship,  and  a  great  improvement  upon  the  clumsy  ma- 
chines which  Mr.  Stephenson  had  inspected  at  Wylam.  It  was 
placed  on  the  tram-way,  leading  from  the  collieries  of  Kenton 
and  Coxlodge,  on  the  second  of  September,  1813 ;  and  a  large 


80  LIFE  OF    GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

concourse  of  spectators  assembled  to  witness  its  first  performan- 
ces. This  locomotive  di'ew  sixteen  chaldron  wagons,  containing 
an  aggregate  weight  of  seventy  tons,  at  the  rate  of  about  three 
miles  an  hour.  George  Stephenson  and  several  of  the  Kilhng- 
worth  men  were  amongst  the  crowd  of  spectators  that  day ;  and 
after  examining  the  engine  and  observing  its  performances,  he 
observed  to  his  companions,  as  related  by  Ileppel,  who  was 
present,  that  "  he  thought  he  could  make  a  better  engine  than 
that  to  go  upon  legs."  Probably  he  had  heard  of  the  invention 
of  Brunton,  whose  patent  had  by  this  time  been  published,  and 
proved  the  subject  of  much  curious  speculation  in  the  colliery 
districts.  Certain  it  is  that,  shortly  after  the  inspection  of  the 
Coxlodge  engine,  Stephenson  contemplated  the  construction  of  a 
new  locomotive,  which  was  to  surpass  all  which  had  preceded  it. 
He  observed  that  those  engines  which  had  been  constructed  up 
to  this  time,  however  ingenious  in  their  aiTangements,  had  proved 
practical  failures.  Mr.  Blackett's  were  both  clumsy  and  expen- 
sive. Chapman's  had  been  removed  from  the  Heaton  tram-way 
in  1812,  and  was  regarded  as  a  total  failure.  And  the  Blenkin- 
sop  engine  at  Coxlodge  was  found  very  unsteady  and  costly  in  its 
working ;  besides,  it  pulled  the  rails  to  pieces,  the  entire  strain 
being  upon  the  rack-rail,  on  one  side  of  the  road.  The  boUer, 
however,  having  shortly  blown  up,  there  was  an  end  of  the 
engine ;  and  the  colUery  owners  did  not  feel  encouraged  to  try 
any  further  experiment. 

An  efficient  and  economical  working  locomotive  engine,  there- 
fore, still  remained  to  be  invented ;  and  to  accomplish  this  object 
ISIr.  Stephenson  now  applied  himself.  Profiting  by  what  hia 
predecessors  had  done,  warned  by  their  failures,  and  encouraged 
by  their  partial  successes,  he  commenced  his  important  labors. 
There  was  still  wanting  the  man  who  should  accomplish  for  the 
locomotive  what  James  Watt  had  done  for  the  steam-engine,  and 
combine  in  a  complete  form  the  separate  plans  of  others,  embody- 
ing with  them  such  original  inventions  and  adaptations  of  his  own 


HIS    FIRST    LOCOMOTIVE.  81 

as  to  entitle  him  to  the  merit  of  invexiting  tlie  working  locomotive, 
in  the  Scarae  manner  as  James  Watt  is  regarded  as  the  inventor 
of  the  working  condensing  engine.  This  was  the  great  work 
upon  which  George  Stephenson  now  entered,  probably  without 
any  adequate  idea  of  the  immense  consequences  of  his  labors  to 
society  and  civilization. 

He  proceeded  to  bring  the  subject  of  constructing  a  "Traveling 
Engine,"  as  he  then  denominated  the  locomotive,  under  the  notice 
of  the  lessees  of  the  Killingworth  colliery,  in  the  year  1813. 
Lord  Eavensworth,  the  principal  partner,  had  ah-eady  formed  a 
very  favorable  opinion  of  Stephenson,  from  the  important  im- 
provements which  he  had  effected  in  the  colliery  engines,  both 
above  and  below  ground ;  and,  after  considering  the  matter,  and 
hearing  Stephenson's  statements,  he  authorized  him  to  proceed 
with  the  construction  of  a  locomotive — though  his  lordship  was, 
by  some,  called  a  fool  for  advancing  money  for  such  a  purpose. 
"  The  first  locomotive  that  I  made,"  said  Mr.  Stephenson,  many 
years  after,*  when  speaking  of  his  early  career,  at  a  public 
meeting  in  Newcastle,  "  was  at  Killingworth  colhery,  and  with 
Lord  Ravensworth's  money.  Yes,  Lord  Eavensworth  and  part- 
ners were  the  first  to  entrust  me  with  money  to  make  a  locomo- 
tive engine.  That  engine  was  made  thirty-two  years  ago,  and 
we  called  it '  My  Lord.'  I  said  to  my  friends,  there  was  no  limit 
to  the  speed  of  such  an  engine,  if  the  works  could  be  made  to 
stand  it." 

Mr.  Stephenson  had,  however,  many  serious  difiiculties  to 
encounter  before  he  could  get  fairly  to  work  with  the  erection 
of  his  locomotive.  His  chief  difficulty  was  in  finding  mechanics 
sufficiently  skilled  in  the  knowledge  of  machinery,  and  in  the  use 
of  tools,  to  follow  his  instructions  and  embody  his  designs,  in  a 
practical  shape.  Skilled  mechanics  were  few  in  number  in  those 
days,  and  were  for  the  most  part  confined  to  Birmingham,  Man- 
chester, Leeds,  and  London.    The  tools  in  use  about  the  collieries 

•  Speech  at  the  opening  of  the  Newcastle  and  Darlington  Railway,  June  18th,  1844. 

6 


82  LIFE  OF    GEORGE   STEPIIENSOX. 

were  rude  and  clumsy ;  and  there  were  then  no  such  facilities  as 
now  exist  for  turning  out  machinery  of  an  entirely  new  character. 
Mr.  Stephenson  was  thus  under  the  necessity  of  working  with 
such  men  and  tools  as  were  at  his  command ;  and  lie  had  in  a 
great  measure  to  train  and  instruct  his  workmen  himself.  The 
engine  was  built  in  the  w^orkshops  at  the  West  Moor,  the  leading 
mechanic  being  John  Thirlwall,  the  colliery  blacksmith,  an  excel- 
lent Avorkman  in  his  way,  though  quite  new  to  the  work  now 
entrusted  to  him. 

In  this  first  locomotive  constructed  at  Killingworth,  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson to  some  extent  followed  the  plan  of  Blenkinsop's  enghie. 
The  boiler  was  cylindrical,  eight  feet  in  length,  and  thirty-four 
inches  in  diameter,  with  an  internal  flue-tube  twenty  inches  wide 
passing  through  the  boiler.  The  engine  had  two  vertical  cylin- 
ders of  eight  inches  diameter  and  two  feet  stroke  let  into  the 
boiler,  working  the  propelling  gear  with  cross-heads  and  connect- 
ing rods  The  power  of  the  two  cylinders  was  continued  by 
means  of  spur-wheels,  which  communicated  the  motive  power  to 
the  wheels  supporting  the  engine  on  the  rail,  instead  of,  as  in 
Blenkinsop's  engine,  to  cog-wheels  which  acted  on  the  cogged 
rail,  independent  of  the  four  supporting  wheels.  This  adoption 
of  spur-gear  was  the  chief  peculiarity  of  the  new  engine :  it 
worked  upon  what  is  termed  the  second  motion.  The  chimney 
was  of  wrought  iron,  around  which  was  a  chamber  extending 
back  to  the  feed-pumps,  for  the  purpose  of  heating  the  water 
previous  to  its  injection  into  the  boiler.  The  engine  had  no 
springs  whatever,  and  was  mounted  on  a  wooden  frame  supported 
on  four  wheels.  In  order,  however,  to  neutralize  as  much  as 
possible  the  jolts  and  shocks  which  such  an  engine  v.ould  neces- 
sarily encounter  from  the  obstacles  and  inequalities  of  the  then 
very  imperfect  plate-way,  the  water  barrel  which  served  for  a 
tender  was  fixed  to  the  end  of  a  lever  and  weighted,  the  other 
end  of  the  lever  being  connected  with  the  frame  of  the  locomotive 
carriage.     By  this  means  the  weight  of  the  two  was  more  equally 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    ENGINE.  83 

distributed,  though  the  contrivance  did  not  by  any  means  com- 
pensate for  the  total  absence  of  springs. 

The  wheels  of  the  new  locomotive  were  all  smooth — and  it 
was  the  first  engine  that  had  been  so  constructed.  From  the 
first,  Mr.  Stephenson  was  convinced  that  the  adhesion  between 
a  smooth  wheel  and  an  edgerail  would  be  as  efficient  as  Mr. 
Blackett  had  proved  it  to  be  between  the  wheel  and  the  tram- 
road.  And,  although  every  one  at  that  time  argued  that  the 
adhesion  upon  a  tramrail  was  by  no  means  a  criterion  of  what 
the  adhesion  would  be  upon  an  edgerail,  Mr.  Stephenson  felt  con- 
fident that  there  was  no  essential  difference  between  the  one  and 
the  other.  Before,  however,  constructing  the  smooth  wheels  for 
his  locomotive,  he  had  the  adhesion  between  the  wheels  of  a  car- 
riage, properly  loaded,  and  the  rails,  tested  and  satisfactorily 
proved  by  experiment.  He  made  a  number  of  workmen  mount 
upon  the  wheels  of  a  wagon  moderately  loaded,  resting  their 
entire  weight  upon  the  spokes  on  one  side,  and  found  that  the 
wagon  could  thus  be  easily  propelled  forward  without  the  wheels 
slipping.  He  then  determined  to  fix  smooth  wheels  upon  his 
locomotive,  in  the  firm  belief  that  the  weight  of  the  engine  would 
of  itself  be  of  sufficient  adhesion  for  the  purpose  of  traction. 

The  engine  was,  after  much  labor  and  anxiety,  and  frequent 
alterations  of  parts,  at  length  brought  to  completion,  having  been 
about  ten  months  in  hand.  It  was  first  placed  upon  the  Killing- 
worth  Railway  on  the  25th  of  July,  1814  ;  and  its  powers  were 
tried  on  the  same  day.  On  an  ascending  gradient  of  1  in  450, 
the  engine  succeeded  in  drawing  after  it  eight  loaded  carriages 
of  thirty  tons  weight  at  about  four  miles  an  hour ;  and  for  some 
time  after,  it  continued  regular  at  work.  It  was  indeed  the  most 
successful  working  engine  that  had  yet  been  constructed. 

Although  a  considerable  advance  upon  all  previous  locomo- 
tives, "Blucher"  (as  the  engine  was  popularly  called)  was 
nevertheless  a  somewhat  cumbrous  and  clumsy  machine.  The 
parts  were  huddled  together.     The  boiler  constituted  the  prin- 


84  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

cipal  feature  ;  and  being  the  foundation  of  the  other  parts,  it  was 
made  to  do  duty  not  only  as  a  generator  of  steam,  but  also  as  a 
basis  for  the  fixings  of  the  machinery  and  for  the  bearings  of  the 
wheels  and  axles.  The  want  of  springs  was  seriously  felt ;  and 
the  progress  of  the  engine  was  a  succession  of  jolts,  causing  con- 
siderable derangement  of  the  machinery.  The  mode  of  commu- 
nicating the  motive  power  to  the  wheels  by  means  of  the  spur 
gear  also  caused  frequent  jerks,  each  cylinder  alternately  propel- 
ling or  becoming  propelled  by  the  other,  as  the  pressure  of  the 
one  upon  the  wheels  became  greater  or  less  than  the  pressure  of 
the  other ;  and  when  the  teeth  of  the  cogwheel  became  at  all 
worn,  a  rattling  noise  was  produced  during  the  traveling  of  the 
engine. 

As  the  principal  test  of  the  success  of  the  locomotive  was  its 
economy  as  compared  with  horse  power,  careful  calculations 
were  made  with  the  view  of  ascertaining  this  important  point. 
The  result  was,  that  it  was  found  the  working  of  the  engine  was 
at  first  barely  economical ;  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  the  steam 
power  and  the  horse  power  were  ascertained  to  be  as  neai'ly  as 
possible  upon  a  par  in  point  of  cost.  The  fate  of  the  locomotive 
in  a  great  measure  depended  on  this  very  engine.  Its  speed  was 
not  beyond  that  of  a  horse's  walk,  and  the  heating  surface  pre- 
sented to  the  fire  being  comparatively  small,  sufficient  steam 
could  not  be  raised  to  enable  it  to  accomplish  more  on  an 
average  than  about  tliree  miles  an  hour.  The  result  wa^  any- 
thmg  but  decisive ;  and  the  locomotive  might  have  been  con- 
demned as  useless,  had  not  Mr.  Stephenson  at  this  juncture 
applied  the  steam-blast,  and  at  once  more  than  doubled  the  power 
of  the  engine. 

Although  Trevethick,  in  the  engine  constructed  by  him  in 
1804,  allowed  the  waste  steam  to  escape  into  the  chimney,  there 
was  no  object  in  the  arrangement  except  to  get  rid  of  a  nuisance 
and  to  avoid  the  unsightliness  of  the  escape  steam  blowing  off  in 
iets  into  the  open  air.     The  exit  pipe  adopted  by  JNIr.  Trevethick, 


INVENTION    OF    THE    STEAM    BLAST.  85 

as  "we  have  already  observed,  was  not  contrived  with  the  view  of 
producing  any  effect ;  nor  does  any  seem  to  have  been  produced, 
for  it  is  certain  that  he  afterwards  abandoned  the  arrangement. 
It  is  remarkable  that  a  man  so  ingenious  as  Trevethick  should 
not  have  discerned  its  advantages ;  but  it  is  clear  that  he  could 
not  have  done  so,  for  as  late  as  1815,  after  George  Stephenson 
had  discovered  and  successfully  adopted  the  steam-blast,  Treve- 
thick took  out  a  patent,  the  principal  object  of  which  was  to 
"  produce  a  current  of  air  in  the  manner  of  a  winnowing  machine, 
to  blow  the  fire."  "  Flat  plates  or  leaves,"  revolving  in  a  case, 
were  the  means  adopted  by  him  for  this  purpose ;  and  in  the 
same  patent  he  proposed  to  "  place  in  the  flue  a  screw  or  set  of 
vanes,  somewhat  similar  to  a  smoke-jack,"  which  were  "to  re- 
volve by  connection  with,  the  steam-engme,  for  the  purpose  of 
creating  an  artificial  draught  in  the  chimney."  This  contrivance 
was,  however,  a  useless  one,  as  Mr.  Stephenson's  mode  of  apply- 
ing the  blast  already  threw  it  far  into  the  shade  as  a  means  of 
stimulating  combustion  by  artificial  means. 

It  is  remarkable  how  little  Trevethick  really  accomplished  for 
railway  progress,  notwithstanding  his  ingenuity  and  skill  as  an 
inventor  and  mechanician.  Instructed  by  Murdoch  and  assisted 
by  Vivian,  he  was  enabled  to  erect  his  first  steam  carriage,  after 
which  he  constructed  his  first  railway  locomotive.  But  Treve- 
thick was  one  of  those  men  who  are  satisfied  with  making  a 
beginning.  He  was  not  endowed  with  the  gift  of  continuance — 
the  quality  of  perseverance.  With  half  the  cleverness  and 
double  the  application  he  might  have  successfully  worked  out 
the  problem  of  railway  locomotion,  and  kept  ahead  of  all  com- 
petitors. 

George  Stephenson  was  a  man  of  an  entirely  different  fibre. 
His  patience  was  never  baffled  by  failure ;  his  faith  was  never 
shaken  by  opposition.  When  he  became  fully  possessed  by  a 
conviction,  he  held  to  it  with  dogged  tenacity,  and  braved  the 
shafts  of  ridicule,  the  arguments  of  opponents,  and  the  shrugs  and 


8G  LIFE  OF   GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

the  sneers  of  the  utterly  indifferent.  Above  all,  he  was  an  accu- 
rate and  careful  observer ;  and  the  improvements  which  he  was 
enabled  to  effect  in  the  locomotive  were  mainly  due  to  the  care 
with  which  he  noted  facts,  and  the  patient  reflection  which  he 
bestowed  upon  them,  with  the  object  of  turning  them  to  useful 
account. 

Thus,  his  adoption  of  the  steam-blast  in  the  chimney  was  in 
no  way  the  issue  of  accident ;  but  it  was  an  invention  the  result 
of  careful  observation  and  patient  reflection.  In  his  first  locomo- 
tive the  eduction  steam  was  allowed  to  escape  into  the  open 
atmosphere,  with  a  hissing  blast,  which  was  the  terror  of  horses 
and  cattle,  and  was  generally  complained  of  as  a  nuisance.  A 
neighboring  squire  even  threatened  an  action  against  the  colliery 
lessees  if  it  were  not  put  an  end  to.  But  Mr.  Stephenson's  at- 
tention had  already  been  drawn  to  the  circumstance  of  the  much 
greater  velocity  with  which  the  steam  issued  from  the  exit  pipe, 
compared  with  that  at  which  the  smoke  escaped  from  the  chim- 
ney of  the  engine.  He  then  thought  that,  by  conveying  the 
eduction  steam  into  the  chimney,  by  means  of  a  small  pipe,  after 
it  had  performed  its  office  in  the  cylinders,  and  allowing  it  to  es- 
cape in  a  vertical  direction,  its  velocity  would  be  imparted  to  the 
smoke  from  the  fire,  or  to  the  ascending  current  of  air  in  the 
chimney,*  thereby  increasing  the  draught,  and  consequently  the 
intensity  of  combustion  in  the  furnace. 

*  Mr.  Nicholas  Wood  gives  the  following  account  of  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the 
invention  of  the  steam-blast  by  Mr.  Stephenson:  "When  the  engines  were  first  made, 
the  steam  escaped  into  the  atmosphere,  and  made  comparatively  little  noise.  It  was 
found  difficult  thus  to  produce  steam  in  sufficient  quantity  to  keep  the  engine  constantly 
working,  or  rather  to  obtain  an  adequate  rapidity  of  current  in  the  chimney  to  give  suf- 
ficient intensity  to  the  fire.  To  eCFcct  a  greater  rapidity  or  to  increase  the  draught  of  the 
chimney,  Mr.  Stephenson  thought  that,  by  causing  the  steam  to  escape  into  the  chim- 
ney through  a  pipe  with  its  end  turned  upwards,  the  velocity  of  the  current  would  be 
accelerated;  and  such  was  the  effect."  {Practical  Treatise  on  Railroads,  by  Nicholas 
Wood,  C.E.  Ed.  1825,  p.  292.)  This  passage  clearly  shows  the  preconceived  design  and 
purpose  of  Mr.  Stephenson  in  inventing  the  steam-blast.  A  claim  has,  nevertheless, 
been  set  up  in  behalf  of  Timothy  Hackworth,  as  its  inventor  in  1829,  although  the  design, 
mechanism  and  rationale  of  the  invention,  as  effected  by  Mr.  Stephenson  in  1815,  and 


INVENTION   OF    THE    STEAM    BLAST.  87 

TLe  experiment  was  no  soonei*  made  than  the  powei'  of  the 
engine  was  at  once  more  than  doubled :  combustion  was  stimu- 
lated by  the  blast ;  consequently  the  capability  of  tlie  boiler  to 
generate  steam  was  greatly  increased,  and  the  effective  power  of 
the  engine  augmented  in  precisely  the  same  proportion,  without 
in  any  way  adding  to  its  weight. 

This  simple  but  beautiful  expedient,  though  it  has  hitherto 
received  but  slight  notice  as  an  original  idea  on  the  part  of  its 
author,  was  really  fraught  with  the  most  important  consequences 
to  railway  communication ;  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
the  success  of  the  locomotive  depended  upon  its  adoption.  With- 
out the  steam-blast,  the  advantages  of  the  "multitubular  boiler" 
could  never  have  been  fairly  tested ;  and  it  was  these  two  im- 
provements, working  together,  which  afterwards  secured  the 
triumph  of  the  locomotive  on  the  opening  of  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  Kailvvay.  "Without  the  steam-blast,  by  which  the 
intensity  of  combustion  was  kept  up  to  the  highest  point,  and  the 
evolution  of  steam  thus  rapidly  efiected,  high  rates  of  speed  by 
means  of  the  combustion  of  coke  could  not  have  been  attained, 
and  locomotives  might  still  have  been  dragging  themselves  un- 
wieldily  along  at  a  little  more  than  live  or  six  miles  an  hour. 

The  steam-blast  had  scarcely  been  adopted,  with  so  decided  a 
success,  when  Mr.  Stephenson,  observing  the  numerous  defects 
in  his  engine,  and  profiting  by  the  experience  Avhich  he  had 
already  acquired,  determined  to  construct  a  second  engine,  in 
which  to  embody  his  improvements  in  their  best  form.  Careful 
and  cautious  observation  of  the  working  of  his  locomotive  had 
convinced  him  that  the  complication  arising  out  of  the  action  of 
the  two  cylinders  being  combined  by  spui'-wheels  would  prevent 
its  coming  into  practical  use.  He  accordingly  directed  his  atten- 
tion to  an  entire  change  in  the  construction  and  mechanical 
arrangements  of  the  machine ;  and  in  the  following  year,  con- 
adopted  by  him  in  all  the  Killingworth  engines  from  that  year  downwards,  were  clearly 
described  by  Mr.  Wood  in  1825  1 


88  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

jointly  with  Mr.  Dodds,  who  provided  the  necessary  funds,  he 
took  out  a  patent,  dated  the  28th  of  February,  1815,*  for  an  en- 
gine which  combined  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  essential  requi- 
sites of  an  economical  locomotive;  that  is  to  say,  few  parts, 
simplicity  in  their  action,  and  directness  m  the  mode  by  which 
the  power  was  communicated  to  the  wheels  supporting  the 
engine. 

This  locomotive,  like  the  fii-st,  had  two  vertical  cylinders,  which 
communicated  directly  with  each  pair  of  the  four  wheels  that 
supported  the  engine,  by  means  of  a  cross  head  and  a  pair  of 
connecting-rods.  But  m  attempting  to  establisli  a  direct  commu- 
nication between  the  cylinders  and  the  wheels  that  rolled  upon 
the  rails,  considerable  difficulties  presented  themselves.  The 
ordinary  joints  could  not  be  employed  to  unite  the  parts  of  the 
engine,  which  was  a  rigid  mass,  ^v'ith  the  wheels  rolling  upon  the 
irregular  surface  of  the  rails  ;  for  it  was  evident  that  the  two  rails 
of  the  line  of  way — more  especially  in  those  early  days  of  im- 
perfect construction  of  the  permanent  road — could  not  always  be 
maintained  at  the  same  level — that  the  wheel  at  one  end  of  the 
axle  might  be  depressed  into  one  jiart  of  the  line  which  had  sub- 
sided, whilst  the  other  wheel  would  be  comparatively  elevated ; 
and,  in  such  a  position  of  the  axles  and  the  wheels,  it  was  ob- 
vious that  a  rigid  communication  between  the  cross  head  and  the 
wheels  was  impracticable.  Hence  it  became  necessary  to  form 
a  joint  at  the  top  of  the  piston-rod  where  it  united  with  the  cross 
head,  so  as  to  permit  the  cross  heaxi  to  preserve  complete  paral- 
lelism with  the  axles  of  the  wheels  with  which  it  was  in  commu- 
nication. 

In  order  to  obtain  that  degree  of  flexibility,  combined  with 
direct  action,  which  was  essential  for  insuring  power  and  avoid- 
ing needless  friction  and  jars  from  irregularities  in  the  road,  ]VIr. 

*  A  grant  to  Ralph  Dodds  and  George  StephenKon,  both  of  Killingworth,  enRinecrs,  for 
their  Tarious  Improvements  in  the  Construction-  of  Locomotive  Engines  I'atent  Office, 
No.  3887. 


HIS   SECOXD   LOCOMOTIVE.  89 

Stephenson  made  use  of  the  "ball  and  socket"  joint  (so  called 
from  its  resemblance  to  th6  hip-joint  of  the  human  body)  for 
eifecting  a  union  between  the  ends  of  the  cross  heads  where  they 
united  with  the  connecting  rods,  and  between  the  ends  of  the 
connecting  rods  where  they  were  united  with  the  crank-pins  at- 
tached to  each  driving  wheel.  By  this  arrangement  the  paral- 
lelism between  the  cross  head  and  the  axle  was  at  all  times 
maintained  and  preserved,  without  producing  any  serious  jar  or 
friction  on  any  part  of  the  machine. 

The  next  important  point  was  to  combine  each  pair  of  wheels 
by  means  of  some  simple  mechanism,  instead  of  by  the  cog- 
wheels which  had  formei-ly  been  used.  And,  with  this  object, 
Mr.  Stephenson  began  by  inserting  each  axle  into  two  cranks  at 
right  angles  to  each  other,  with  rods  communicating  horizontally 
between  them. 

A  locomotive  was  accordingly  constructed  upon  this  plan  in  the 
year  1815,  and  it  was  found  to  answer  extremely  well.  But  at 
that  period  the  mechanical  skill  of  the  country  was  not  equal  to 
the  task  of  forging  crank  axles  of  the  soundness  and  strength 
necessary  to  stand  the  jars  incident  to  locomotive  work.  Mr. 
Stephenson  was  accordingly  compelled  to  fall  back  upon  a  sub- 
stitute, which,  although  less  simple  and  efficient,  was  within  the 
mechanical  capabilities  of  the  workmen  of  that  day,  in  respect  of 
construction  as  well  as  repair.  He  adopted  a  chain  which  rolled 
over  indented  wheels  placed  on  the  centre  of  each  axle,  and  so 
arranged  that  the  two  pairs  of  wheels  were  effectually  coupled 
and  made  to  keep  pace  with  each  other.  The  chain,  however, 
after  a  few  years  use,  became  stretched ;  and  then  the  engines 
were  liable  to  irregularity  in  their  working,  especially  in  changing 
from  working  back  to  working  forward  again.  Eventually,  the 
chain  was  laid  aside,  and  the  front  and  hind  wheels  were  united 
by  rods  on  the  outside,  instead  of  by  rods  and  crank  axles  inside, 
as  specified  in  the  original  patent.     This  expedient  completely 


90  LIFE  OF    GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

answered  the  puqjose  required,  without  involving  any  exjiensive 
or  difRcuU  workmanship. 

Thus,  in  the  year  1815,  Mr.  Stephenson,  by  dint  of  patient  and 
persevering  labor — by  careful  observation  of  the  works  of  others, 
and  never  neglecting  to  avail  himself  of  their  suggestions — had 
succeeded  in  manufacturing  an  engine  which  included  the  follow- 
ing important  improvements  on  all  previous  attempts  in  the  same 
direction  —  viz  :  simple  and  direct  communication  between  the 
cylinder  and  the  wheels  rolling  upon  the  rails ;  joint  adhesion  of 
all  the  wheels,  attained  by  the  use  of  horizontal  connecting  rods ; 
and  finally,  a  beautiful  method  of  exciting  the  combustion  of  the 
fuel  by  employing  the  waste  steam,  which  had  formerly  been 
allowed  uselessly  to  escape  into  the  air.  Although  many  im- 
provements in  detail  were  afterwards  introduced  in  the  locomotive 
by  Mr.  Stephenson  himself,  as  well  as  by  his  equally  distinguished 
son,  it  is  perhaps  not  too  much  to  say  that  this  engine,  as  a  me- 
chanical contrivance,  contained  the  genn  of  all  that  has  since  been 
effected.  It  may,  in  fact,  be  regarded  as  the  type  of  the  present 
locomotive  engine. 


CHAPTER    X. 

INVENTS  TKE  "  GEORDY  "  SAFETY  LAMP. 

Explosions  of  fire-damp  were  unusually  frequent  in  the  coal 
mines  of  Northumberland  and  Durham  about  the  time  when 
George  Stephenson  was  engaged  in  the  construction  of  his  first 
locomotives.  These  explosions  were  frequently  attended  with 
fearful  loss  of  life  and  dreadful  suffering  to  the  colliery  workers- 
Killingworth  Colliery  was  not  free  from  such  deplorable  calami- 
ties; and  during  the  time  that  Stephenson  was  employed  as  a 
brakesman  at  the  West  Moor,  several  "  blasts "  took  place  in  the 
pit,  by  which  many  Avorkmen  were  scorched  and  killed,  and  the 
owners  of  the  colHery  sustained  heavy  losses.  One  of  the  most 
serious  of  these  accidents  occurred  in  1806,  not  long  after  he  had 
been  appointed  brakesman,  by  which  ten  persons  were  killed. 
Stephenson  was  working  at  the  mouth  of  the  pit  at  the  time,  and 
the  circumstances  connected  Avith  the  accident  seem  to  have  made 
a  deep  impression  on  his  mind,  as  will  appear  from  the  following 
graphic  account,  which  he  gave  to  a  committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  some  thirty  years  after  the  event :  * 

"  The  pit  had  just  ceased  drawing  coals,  and  nearly  all  the  men 
had  got  out.  It  was  sometime  in  the  afternoon,  a  little  after  mid- 
day. There  were  five  men  that  went  down  the  pit ;  four  of  them 
for  the  purpose  of  preparing  a  place  for  the  furnace.     The  fifth 

*ETidence  given  before  the  Select  Committee  on  Acciaents  in  Mines,  26th  June,  1835. 

(91) 


92  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPUENSON. 

was  a  person  who  went  down  to  set  them  to  work.  I  sent  this 
man  down  myself,  and  he  had  just  got  to  the  bottom  of  the  shaft 
about  two  or  three  minutes,  when  the  explosion  took  place.  I 
had  left  the  mouth  of  the  pit,  and  had  gone  about  fifty  or  sixty 
yards  away,  when  I  heax-d  a  tremendous  noise,  looked  round,  and 
saw  the  discharge  come  out  of  the  pit  like  the  discharge  of  a 
cannon.  It  continued  to  blow,  I  think,  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour, 
discharging  everything  that  had  come  into  the  current.  There 
was  wood  came  up,  stones  came  up,  and  trusses  of  hay  that  went 
up  into  the  air  like  balloons.  Those  trusses  had  been  sent  down 
during  the  day,  and  I  think  they  had  in  some  measure  injured 
the  ventilation  of  the  mine.  The  ground  all  round  the  top  of  the 
pit  was  in  a  trembling  state.  I  went  as  near  as  I  durst  go ; 
everything  appeared  cracking  and  rending  about  me.  Part  of  the 
brattice,  which  was  very  strong,  was  blown  aAvay  at  the  bottom  of 
the  pits.  Very  large  pumps  were  lifted  from  their  places,  so  that 
the  engine  could  not  work.  The  pit  was  divided  into  four  by 
partitions  ;  it  was  a  large  pit,  fourteen  feet  in  diameter,  and  par- 
titions were  put  down  at  right  angles,  which  made  four  compart- 
ments. The  explosion  took  place  in  one  of  those  four  quarters, 
but  it  broke  through  into  all  the  others  at  the  bottom,  and  the 
brattice  or  partitions  were  set  on  fire  at  the  first  explosion.  After 
it  had  continued  to  blow  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  discharge 
ceased,  and  the  atmosphere  all  round  poured  into  the  pit  to  fill 
up  the  vacant  place  that  must  have  been  formerly  occupied  by 
the  flame.  In  one  of  the  other  pits,  that  was  connected  by  some 
doors  in  a  drift  with  that  in  which  the  explosion  took  place,  were 
several  men,  some  of  whom  succeeded  in  getting  up  safe.  The 
ropes  in  the  first  pit  were  shattered  to  pieces  by  the  force  of  the 
blasts,  but  the  ropes  in  the  other  pits  were  still  left  comparatively 
uninjured.  Nobody  durst  go  near  the  shafts  for  some  time,  for  fear 
of  another  explosion  taking  place.  At  last  we  considered  it  neces- 
sary to  run  the  rope  backwards  and  forwards,  and  give  the  miners, 
if  there  were  any  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft,  an  opportunity  of 


BLAST    IN    THE    KILLINGWORTH   PIT.  93 

catching  the  rope  as  it  came  to  the  bottom.  "Wlienever  the  rope 
went  to  the  bottom  it  was  allowed  to  remain  a  short  time,  till  we 
considered  the  men  had  time  to  cling  to  it.  Several  were  safely 
got  up  in  this  way ;  and  another  man  had  got  hold  of  the  rope, 
and  was  being  drawn  up,  when  a  further  explosion  took  place  at 
the  time  he  was  in  the  shaft,  but  it  was  merely  like  the  discharge 
of  a  gun,  and  it  did  not  continue  like  the  former  blast.  This 
man,  it  appeared,  had  been  helped  up  so  far  by  the  increased 
current  which  came  about  him,  that,  the  rope  running  up  at  a 
great  velocity,  he  was  projected  up  the  shaft,  yet  he  was  landed 
without  injury ;  it  was  a  singular  case.  Four  out  of  the  five  men 
who  had  been  sent  down  just  before  the  explosion  took  place, 
were  not  seen  again  for  three  or  four-and-twenty  weeks,  when 
they  were  found  buried  amongst  the  corves,  or  baskets  and  little 
carriages,  at  the  bottom  of  the  shafts.  The  overlooker,  who  had 
gone  to  set  these  men  to  work,  knew  the  situation  they  were 
likely  to  be  placed  in ;  and,  hearing  the  noise  of  the  explosion 
before  it  reached  the  shaft,  he  threw  himself  behind  some  pillars 
near  the  pits,  so  that  the  current  went  past  him ;  but  the  flame 
came  about  him,  and  nearly  all  his  clothes  were  burnt  off  his 
back,  though  he  laid  himself  down  flat  upon  his  face  for  safety." 
After  the  blast  ceased,  this  person  got  up  and  found  his  way  round 
to  the  other  pit,  when  he  got  up  by  the  rope  in  the  manner  stated. 
The  pit  continued  to  blast  every  two  or  three  hours  for  about  two 
days.  It  appears  that  the  coal  had  taken  fire,  and  as  soon  as  the 
cai'buretted  hydi'ogen  gas  collected  in  sufficient  quantity  to  reach 
the  part  where  it  was  burning,  it  ignited  again ;  but  none  of  the 
explosions  were  equal  to  the  first,  on  account  of  many  parts  of 
the  mine  having  become  filled  with  azotic  gas,  or  the  after-damp 
of  the  mine.  All  the  ditches  in  the  country-side  were  stopped  to 
get  water  to  pour  into  the  pit.  We  had  extinguishing  or  fire- 
engines  brought  from  Newcastle,  and  the  water  was  poured  in 
till  it  came  above  the  fire,  and  then  it  was  extinguished.    The 


94  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

loss  to  the  owners  of  the  colliery  by  this  accident  must  have  been 
about  £20,000." 

Another  explosion  of  a  similar  kind  occurred  in  the  same  pit 
in  1809,  by  wliich  twelve  persons  lost  their  lives.  George 
Stephenson  was  working  at  the  pit  when  the  accident  occurred, 
but  the  blast  did  not  reach  the  shaft  as  in  the  former  case ;  the 
unfortunate  persons  in  the  pit  havmg  been  suffocated  by  the 
after-damp.  But  more  calamitous  explosions  than  these  occurred 
in  the  neighboring  collieries ;  one  of  the  worst  being  that  which 
took  place  in  May,  1812,  in  the  Felling  Pit,  near  Gateshead,  a 
mine  belonging  to  Mr.  Brandling,  by  wliich  no  fewer  than  ninety 
men  and  boys  were  suffocated  or  burnt  to  death.  And  a  similar 
accident  occurred  in  the  same  pit  in  the  year  following,  by  which 
twenty-two  men  and  boys  perished. 

It  was  natural  that  George  Stephenson,  when  appointed  to  the 
responsible  office  of  coUiery  engine-wright,  should  devote  his 
attention  to  the  causes  of  these  deplorable  accidents,  mid  to  the 
means  by  which  they  might  if  possible  be  prevented.  His  daily 
occupation  led  liim  to  think  much  and  deeply  on  the  subject.  As 
the  engineer  of  a  colliery  so  extensive  as  that  of  Kilhngworth, 
where  there  were  nearly  160  miles  of  gallery  excavation,  and  in 
which  he  personally  superintended  the  formation  of  inclined 
planes  for  the  conveyance  of  the  coal  to  the  pit  entrance,  he  was 
necessarily  very  often  rmder  ground,  and  brought  face  to  face 
with  the  dangers  of  fire-damp.  From  fissures  in  the  roofs  of  the 
galleries,  carburetted  hydrogen  gas  was  constantly  flowing ;  in 
some  of  the  more  dmigerous  places  it  might  be  heard  escaping 
from  the  crevices  of  the  coal  with  a  hissing  noise.  Ventilation, 
firing,  and  all  conceivable  modes  of  drawing  out  the  foul  air  had 
been  adopted,  and  the  more  dangerous  parts  of  the  galleries  were 
built  up.  StiU  the  danger  could  not  be  wholly  prevented.  The 
miners  must  necessarily  guide  their  steps  tln-ough  the  extensive 
underground  pathways  with  lighted  lamps  or  candles,  the  naked 
flame  of  wliich,  coming  in  contact  with  the  inflammable  air,  daily 


EXPLOSIONS    OP   FIRE-DAMP.  95 

exposed  tliem,  and  their  fellow-workers  in  the  pit,  to  the  risk  of 
death  in  one  of  its  most  dreadful  forms. 

Oae  day,  in  the  year  1814,  a  workman  hurried  into  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson's cottage  with  the  startling  infonnation  that  the  deepest 
main  of  the  colliery  was  on  fire !  He  immediately  hastened  to 
the  pit-mouth,  about  a  hundred  yards  off,  whither  the  women 
and  children  of  the  colliery  were  fast  running,  Avith  wildness  and 
terror  depicted  in  every  face.  In  an  energetic  voice,  Stephenson 
ordered  the  engineman  to  lower  him  down  the  shaft  in  the  corve. 
There  was  danger,  it  might  be  death,  before  him — l)ut  he  must 
go.  As  those  about  the  pit-mouth  saw  him  descend  rapidly  out 
of  sight,  and  heard  from  the  gloomy  depths  of  the  shaft  the 
mingled  cries  of  despair  and  agony  rising  from  the  work  people 
below,  they  gazed  on  the  heroic  man  with  bi-eathless  amazement. 

He  was  soon  at  the  bottom,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  workmen, 
who  were  paralyzed  at  the  danger  which  threatened  the  lives  of 
all  in  the  pit.  Leaping  from  the  corve  on  its  touching  the  ground, 
he  called  out,  "  Stand  back !  Are  there  six  men  among  you  who 
have  courage  enough  to  follow  me?  If  so,  come,  and  we  will 
put  the  fire  out." 

The  Killingworth  men  always  had  the  most  perfect  confidence 
in  George  Stephenson,  and  instantly  they  volunteered  to  follow 
him.  Silence  succeeded  to  the  frantic  tumult  of  the  previous 
minute,  and  the  men  set  to  work.  In  every  mine,  bricks,  mortar 
and  tools  enough  are  at  hand,  and  by  Stephenson's  direction 
materials  were  forthwith  carried  to  the  required  spot,  where,  in  a 
very  short  time  the  wall  was  raised  at  the  entrance  to  the  main, 
he  himself  taking  the  most  active  part  in  the  work.  The  atmos- 
pheric air  was  by  this  means  excluded,  the  fire  was  extinguished, 
the  people  were  saved  from  death,  and  the  mine  was  preserved. 

This  anecdote  of  Mr.  Stephenson  was  related  to  the  writer, 
near  the  pit-mouth,  by  one  of  the  men.  Kit  Heppel,  who  had 
been  an  eye-witness  to  it,  and  helped  to  build  up  the  brick  wall 
by  which  the  fire  was  stayed,  though  several  workmen  were  suf- 


96  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

focated  in  the  pit.  Heppel  relates  that,  when  down  the  pit  some 
days  after,  seeking  out  the  dead  bodies,  the  cause  of  the  accident 
was  the  subject  of  some  conversation  between  himself  and  Ste- 
phenson, and  Heppel  then  asked  him,  "  Can  nothing  be  done  to 
prevent  such  awful  occurrences?"  Stephenson  replied  that  he 
thouglit  something  might  be  done.  "Then,"  said  Heppel,  "the 
sooner  you  start  the  better ;  for  the  price  of  coal-mining  now  is 
pitmen^ s  lives." 

The  chief  object  to  be  attained  was,  to  devise  a  lamp  that 
would  bum  and  give  forth  sufficient  light  to  guide  the  miner  in 
his  underground  labors,  without  communicating  flame  to  the 
inflammable  gas  which  accumulated  in  certain  parts  of  the  pit.* 
Something  had  already  been  attempted  towards  the  invention  of 
a  colliery  lamp  by  Dr.  Clanny,  of  Sunderland,  who,  in  1813, 
contrived  an  apparatus  to  which  he  gave  air  from  the  mine 
through  water,  by  means  of  bellows.  This  lamp  went  out  of 
itself  in  inflammable  gas.  It  was  found,  however,  too  unwieldy 
to  be  used  by  the  miners  for  the  purposes  of  their  work.  A  com- 
mittee of  gentlemen  was  formed  at  Sunderland  to  investigate  the 
causes  of  the  explosions,  and  to  devise,  if  possible,  some  means 
of  preventing  them.  At  the  invitation  of  that  committee,  Sir 
Humphry  Davy,  then  in  the  full  zenith  of  his  reputation,  was 
requested  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  subject.  He  accordingly 
visited  the  collieries  near  Newcastle  on  the  24:th  of  August, 
1815  ;t  and  at  the  close  of  that  year,  on  the  9th  of  November, 
1815,  he  read  his  celebrated  paper  "On  the  Fire-Damp  of  Coal 
Mines,  and  on  methods  of  lighting  the  IVIines  so  as  to  prevent  its 
Explosion,"  before  the  Royal  Society  of  London.  J 

*  The  common  means  employed  by  the  miners  for  lighting  those  parts  of  the  mine 
where  clanger  was  apprehended  from  the  fire-damp,  was  by  a  steel  wheel,  which,  being 
made  to  rerolTC  in  contact  with  flint,  aCforded  a  succession  of  sparks  ;  but  the  apparatus 
always  required  a  person  to  work  it ;  and  though  much  less  liable  to  explode  the  fire- 
damp than  a  common  candle,  yet  its  use  was  not  altogether  free  from  danger,  and  the 
light  which  it  gare  forth  was  very  inefficient. 

t  Paris's  Life  of  Davy,  4to  ed.,  p.  310.  •  J  Ibid.,  p.  315. 


DAVY'S   SAFETY  LAMP. 


STEPHENSON'S  SAFEIT  LAMP- 


'i 


HIS    SAFETY    LAMP.  97 

But  an  humbler,  though  not  less  diligent  and  original  thinker, 
had  been  to  work  before  him,  and  had  already  practically  solved 
the  problem  of  the  Safety  Lamp.  Stephenson  was  of  course 
well  aware  of  the  anxiety  which  prevailed  in  the  colliery  dis- 
tricts as  to  the  invention  of  a  lamp  which  should  give  light 
enough  for  the  miner's  work  without  exploding  the  fire-damp. 
The  painful  incidents  above  described  only  served  to  quicken  his 
eagerness  to  master  the  difficulty.  Let  the  reader  bear  in  mind 
the  comparative  obscurity  of  Stephenson's  position,  for  he  was  as 
yet  but  one  step  removed  from  the  grade  of  a  manual  laborer 
— the  meagreness  of  his  scientific  knowledge,  all  of  which  he  had 
himself  gathered,  bit  by  bit,  during  his  leisure  moments,  which 
were  but  few — his  almost  entire  lack  of  teachers,  excepting  liis 
own  keen  and  observant  eye,  and  his  shrewd  and  penetrating 
judgment;  let  these  things  be  remembered,  and  the  invention 
of  the  Geordy  Safety  Lamp  by  Stephenson,  will  be  regarded 
as  an  achievement  of  the  highest  merit. 

For  several  years  he  had  been  engaged,  in  his  own  rude  way, 
in  making  experiments  with  the  fire-damp  in  the  Killingworth 
mine.  The  pitmen  used  to  expostulate  with  him  on  these  occa- 
sions, believing  that  the  experiments  were  fraught  with  danger. 
One  of  the  sinkers,  called  M'Crie,  observing  him  holding  up 
lighted  candles  to  the  windward  of  the  "blower"  or  fissure  from 
which  the  inflammable  gas  escaped,  entreated  him  to  desist ;  but 
Stephenson's  answer  was,  that  "  he  was  busy  with  a  plan  by 
which  he  could  make  his  experiments  useful  for  preserving 
men's  lives."  *  On  these  occasions  the  miners  usually  got  out 
of  the  way  before  he  lit  the  gas. 

In  1815,  although  he  was  very  much  occupied  with  the  busi- 
ness of  the  collieries  and  with  the  improvements  in  his  new 
locomotive  engine,  he  was  also  busily  engaged  in  making  experi- 

*  Evidence  given  before  the  Committee  appointed  to  report  upon  the  claims  of  George 
Steplienson,  relative  to  the  invention  of  his  Safety  Lamp.  Hodgson :  Newcastle,  1817, 
p.  21 

7 


98  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

ments  on  inflammable  gas  in  the  Killingworth  pit.  As  he  him- 
self afterwards  related  to  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mon!?,* which  sat  on  the  subject  of  Accidents  in  Mines  in  1835, 
the  nature  and  object  of  those  experiments,  we  cannot  do  better 
than  cite  his  own  words  : 

"  I  will  give  the  Committee,"  said  he,  "  my  idea  mechanically, 
because  I  knew  nothing  of  chemistry  at  the  time.     Seeing  the 
gas  lighted  up,  and  observing  the  velocity  with  which  the  flame 
passed  along  tiie  roof,  my  attention  was  drawn  to  the  contriving 
of  a  lamp,  seeing  it  required  a  given  time  to  pass  over  a  given 
distance.     My  idea  of  making  a  lamp  was  entirely  on  mechani- 
cal principles ;  and  I  think  I  shall  be  found  quite  correct  in  my 
views,  from  mechanical  reasoning.     I  knew  well  that  the  heated 
air  from  the  fire  di'ove  round  a  smoke-jack,  and  that  caused  me 
to  know  that  I  could  have  a  power  from  it.     I  also  knew  very 
well  that  a  steam-engine  chimney  was  built  for  the  purpose  of 
causing  a  strong  current  of  air  through  the  fire.     Having  these 
facts  before  me,  and  knowing  the  properties  of  heated  air,  I 
amused  myself  with  lighting  one  of  the  blowers  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  where  I  had  to  erect  machinery.     I  had  it  on  fire ;  the 
volume  of  flame  was  coming  out  the  size  of  my  two  hands,  but 
was  not  so  large  but  that  I  could  approach  close  to  it.     Holding 
my  candle  to  the  windward  of  the  flame,  I  observed  that  it 
changed  its   color.     I  then  got  two  candles,  and  again  placed 
them  to  the  windward  of  the  flame  ;  it  changed  color  still  more, 
and  became  duller.     I  got  a  number  of  candles,  and  placing 
them  all  to  the  windward,  the  blower  ceased  to  burn.     This  then 
gave  me  the  idea,  that  if  I  could  construct  my  lamp  so  as,  with  a 
chimney  at  the  top,  to  cause  a  current,  it  would  never  fire  at  the 
top  of  the  chimney ;  and  by  seeing  the  velocity  with  which  the 
ignited  fire-damp  passed  along  the  roof,  I  considered  that,  if  I 
could  produce  a  current  through  tubes  in  a  lamp  equal  to  the 

•Report. — Accidents  in  Mines,  with  Evidence.    (Parliamentar- Paper,  603.    Session 
1835.) 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    LAMP.  99 

current  that  I  saw  passing  along  the  roof,  I  should  make  a  lamp 
that  could  be  taken  into  an  explosive  mixture  Avithout  exploding 
externally." 

Such  was  Mr.  Stephenson's  theory,  when  he  proceeded  to  em- 
body his  idea  of  a  miner's  safety  lamp  in  a  practical  form.  In 
the  month  of  August,  1815,  he  requested  his  friend  Mr.  Nicholas 
Wood,  the  head  viewer  of  the  colliery,  to  prepare  a  drawing  of  a 
lamp,  according  to  the  description  which  he  gave  him.  After 
several  evenings'  careful  deliberations,  the  drawing  was  prepared, 
and  it  was  shown  to  several  of  the  head  men  about  the  works. 
"My  first  lamp,"  said  Mr.  Stephenson,  describing  it  to  the  Com- 
mittee above  referred  to,  "had  a  chimney  at  the  top  of  the  lamp, 
and  a  tube  at  the  bottom,  to  admit  the  atmospheric  air,  or  fire- 
damp and  air,  to  feed  the  burner  or  combustion  of  the  lamp.  I 
was  not  aware  of  the  precise  quantity  required  to  feed  the  com- 
bustion ;  but  to  know  what  quantity  was  necessary,  I  had  a  slide 
at  the  bottom  of  the  first  tube  in  my  lamp,  to  admit  such  a  quan- 
tity of  air  as  might  eventually  be  found  necessary  to  keep  up  the 
combustion."  Stephenson  then,  accompanied  by  his  friend  Wood, 
went  to  Newcastle,  and  ordered  a  lamp  to  be  made  according  to 
the  prepared  plan,  by  Messrs.  Hogg,  tinmen,  at  the  head  of  the 
Side — a  well  known  street  in  Newcastle.  At  the  same  time, 
they  ordered  a  glass  to  be  made  for  the  lamp,  at  the  Northum- 
berland Glass  House,  in  the  same  town.  This  lamp  was  re- 
ceived from  the  makers  on  the  21st  of  October,  and  was  taken 
to  Killingworth  for  the  purpose  of  immediate  experiment. 

George  Stephenson  arrived  home  about  dusk,  and  found 
Moodie,  the  under  viewer,  all  anxiety,  waiting  for  him  at  the 
cottage.  The  lamp  was  immediately  filled  with  oil,  trimmed 
and  lighted ;  and  all  was  now  ready  for  its  trial  in  the  jDit.  But 
Mr.  Wood  had  not  yet  arrived,  and  it  was  thought  necessary  that 
he  should  be  present.  He  was  known  to  be  at  Benton,  about  a 
mile  distant.  "Robert,"  said  George,  turning  to  his  son,  "you 
must  go  over  for  Wood,  and  tell  him  to  come  directly."     It  was 


100  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

a  dark  night ;  but  the  boy  had  learned  implicitly  to  obey  hia 
father,  and  he  set  out  forthwith.  On  his  way  he  had  to  pass 
through  Benton  churchyard,  and  as  he  cautiously  approached  the 
wicket-gate  and  opened  it,  he  thought  he  saw  a  white  figure 
standing  amongst  the  tombs !  He  started  back,  his  heart  flutter- 
ing, and,  making  the  circuit  of  the  wall  of  the  burying-ground, 
he  came  round  on  the  other  side ;  and  then  he  saw  that  the  sup- 
posed white  figure  had  been  caused  by  a  lanthorn  flashing  its 
light  upon  the  grave-digger,  who  was  busy  plying  his  vocation  at 
that  late  hour.  Mr.  Wood  was  soon  found,  and,  mounting  his 
horse,  he  rode  over  to  Killingworth  at  once.  When  Robert 
reached  the  cottage,  he  found  his  father  had  just  left,  (it  was 
then  near  eleven  o'clock,)  and  gone  doAvn  the  shaft  for  the  pur- 
pose of  trying  the  lamp  in  one  of  the  most  dangerous  parts  of  the 
mine! 

Arrived  at  the  bottom  of  the  shaft  with  the  lamp,  the  party 
directed  their  steps  towards  one  of  the  foulest  galleries  in  the  pit, 
where  the  explosive  gas  was  issuing  through  a  blower  in  the  roof 
of  the  mine  with  a  loud  hissing  noise.  By  erecting  some  deal 
boarding  around  that  part  of  the  gallery  into  which  the  gas  was 
escaping,  the  air  was  thus  made  more  foul  for  the  purpose  of  the 
experiment.  After  waiting  for  about  an  hour,  Moodie,  whose 
practical  experience  of  fire-damp  in  pits  was  greater  than  that 
of  either  Stephenson  or  Wood,  was  requested  by  them  to  go  into 
the  place  which  had  thus  been  made  foul ;  and,  having  done  so, 
he  returned,  and  told  them  that  the  smell  of  the  air  was  such, 
that  if  a  lighted  candle  were  now  introduced  an  explosion  must 
inevitably  take  place.  He  cautioned  Stephenson  as  to  the 
danger,  both  to  themselves  and  to  the  pit,  if  the  gas  took  fire. 
But  Stephenson  declared  his  confidence  in  the  safety  of  his  lamp, 
and,  having  lit  the  wick,  he  boldly  proceeded  with  it  towards  the 
explosive  air.  The  others,  more  timid  and  doubtful,  hung  back 
when  they  came  within  hearing  of  the  blower ;  and,  apprehensive 
of  the  danger,  they  retired  into  a  safe  place,  out  of  sight  of  the 


TRIAL    OF    THE    LAMP.  101 

lamp,  which  gradually  disappeared  with  its  bearer,  in  the  re- 
cesses of  the  mine.  It  waa  a  critical  moment ;  and  the  danger 
was  such  as  w'ould  have  tried  the  stoutest  heart.  Stephenson 
advancing  alone,  with  his  yet  untried  lamp,  in  the  depths  of  those 
undergi'ound  workings — calmly  venturing  his  own  life  in  the  de- 
termination to  discover  a  mode  by  which  the  lives  ofi  many  might 
be  saved  and  death  disarmed  in  these  fatal  caverns — presented 
an  example  of  intrepid  nerve  and  manly  courage,  more  noble 
even  than  that  which,  in  the  excitement  of  battle  and  the  collec- 
tive impetuosity  of  a  charge,  carries  a  man  up  to  the  cannon's 
mouth. 

Advancing  to  the  place  of  danger,  and  entering  within  the 
fouled  air,  his  lighted  lamp  in  hand,  Stephenson  held  it  firmly 
out,  in  the  full  current  of  the  blower,  and  within  a  few  inches  of 
its  mouth !  Thus  exposed,  the  flame  of  the  lamp  at  first  in- 
creased, and  then  flickered  and  went  out;  but  there  was  no 
explosion  of  the  gas.  Stephenson  returned  to  his  companions, 
who  were  still  at  a  distance,  and  told  them  what  had  occurred. 
Having  now  acquired  somewhat  more  confidence,  they  advanced 
with  him  to  a  point  from  which  they  could  observe  him  repeat 
his  experiment — but  still  at  a  safe  distance.  They  saw  that 
w4ien  the  lighted  lamp  was  held  within  the  explosive  mixture, 
there  was  a  great  flame ;  the  lamp  was  almost  full  of  fire ;  and 
then  it  smothered  out.  Again  returning  to  his  companions,  he 
relighted  the  lamp,  and  repeated  the  experiment.  This  he  did 
several  times,  with  the  same  result.  At  length  "Wood  and 
Moodie  ventured  to  advance  close  to  the  fouled  part  of  the  pit ; 
and,  in  making  some  of  the  later  trials,  Mr.  Wood  himself  held 
up  the  lighted  lamp  to  the  blower.  Such  was  the  result  of  the 
first  experiments  with  the  Jirst  practical  Miner's  Safety  Lamp  ; 
and  such  the  daring  resolution  of  its  inventor  in  testing  its  valu- 
able qualities. 

Before  leaving  the  pit,  Stephenson  expressed  his  opinion  that, 
by  an  alteration  of  the  lamp,  which  he  then  contemplated,  he 


102  LIFE  OF    GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

could  make  it  bum  better.  This  was  by  a  change  in  the  slide 
througli  which  the  air  was  admitted  into  the  lower  part  of  the 
lamp,  under  the  flame.  After  making  some  experiments  on  the 
air  collected  at  the  blower,  by  means  of  bladders  which  were 
mounted  Avith  tubes  of  various  diameters,  he  satisfied  himself 
that,  when  the  tube  was  reduced  to  a  certain  diameter,  the  ex- 
plosion would  not  pass  through;  and  he  fashioned  his  slide 
accordingly,  reducing  the  diameter  of  the  tube  until  he  conceived 
it  was  quite  safe.  In  the  course  of  about  a  fortnight  the  experi- 
ments were  repeated  in  the  pit,  in  a  place  purposely  made  foul 
as  before.  On  this  occasion,  a  large  number  of  persons  ventured 
to  witness  the  experiments,  which  again  proved  perfectly  success- 
ful. The  lamp  was  not  yet,  however,  so  efficient  as  he  desired. 
It  required,  he  observed,  to  be  kept  very  steady  when  burning 
in  the  inflammable  gas,  otherwise  it  was  very  liable  to  go  out,  in 
consequence,  as  he  imagined,  of  the  contact  of  the  burnt  air,  (as 
he  then  called  it,)  or  azotic  gas,  that  lodged  round  the  exterior 
of  the  flame.  If  the  lamp  was  moved  backwards  and  forwards, 
the  azote  came  in  contact  with  the  flame  and  extinguished  it. 
"It  struck  me,"  said  he,  "that  if  I  put  more  tubes  in,  I  should 
discharge  the  poisonous  matter  that  hung  round  the  flame,  by 
admitting  the  air  to  its  exterior  part."  Although,  as  he  after- 
wards explained  to  the  committee,*  he  had  no  access  to  scientific 
works,  nor  intercourse  with  scientific  men,  nor  anything  that 
could  assist  him  in  his  inquiries  on  the  subject,  besides  his  own 
indefatigable  spirit  of  inquiry,  he  contrived  a  rude  apparatus  by 
means  of  which  he  proceeded  to  test  the  explosive  properties  of 
the  gas,  and  the  velocity  of  current  (for  this  was  the  direction  of 
his  inquiries)  required  to  permit  the  explosion  to  pass  through 
tubes  of  difi"erent  diameters.  His  own  description  of  these  ex- 
periments, in  the  course  of  which  he  had  several  "blows  up,"  is 
interesting : 

"  I  made  several  experiments  (and  Mr.  Wood  was  with  me  at 

*  House  of  Commons'  Report  and  Evidence,  already  quoted,  p.  97. 


TRIAL    OF    THE    LAMP.  103 

the  time)  as  to  the  velocity  required  in  tubes  of  different  diame- 
ters, to  prevent  explosion  from  fire-damp.  We  made  the  mixtures 
in  all  proportions  of  light  carburetted  hydrogen  with  atmospheric 
air,  in  the  receiver ;  and  we  found  by  the  expei'iments,  that  when 
a  current  of  the  most  explosive  mixture  that  we  could  make  was 
forced  up  a  tube  four-tenths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  the  necessary 
current  was  nine  inches  in  a  second  to  prevent  its  coming  down 
that  tube.  These  experiments  were  repeated  several  times.  We 
had  two  or  three  blows  up  in  making  the  experiments,  by  the 
flame  getting  down  into  the  receiver,  though  we  had  a  piece  of 
very  fine  wire  gauze  put  at  the  bottom  of  the  pipe,  between  the 
receiver  and  the  pipe  through  which  we  were  forcing  the  current. 
In  one  of  these  experiments  I  was  watching  the  flame  in  the 
tube,  my  son  was  tidving  the  vibrations  of  the  pendulum  of  the 
clock,  and  Mr.  Wood  was  attending  to  give  me  the  column  of 
water  as  I  called  for  it,  to  keep  the  current  up  to  a  certain  point. 
As  I  saw  the  flame  descending  in  the  tube,  I  called  for  more 
water,  and  he  unfortunately  turned  the  cock  the  wrong  way ;  the 
current  ceased,  the  flame  went  down  the  tube,  and  all  our  imple- 
ments were  blown  to  pieces,  whicli  at  the  time  we  were  not  very 
well  able  to  rejjlace." 

The  explosion  of  this  glass  receiver,  which  had  been  borrowed 
from  the  stores  of  the  Philosophical  Society  at  Newcastle,  for  the 
purpose  of  making  the  experiments,  caused  the  greatest  possible 
dismay  amongst  the  party ;  and  they  dreaded  to  inform  ]Mr. 
Turner,  the  Secretary,  of  the  calamity  which  had  occurred. 
Fortunately  none  of  the  experimenters  were  injured  by  the 
explosion. 

Mr.  Stephenson  followed  up  those  exi^eriments  by  others  of  a 
similar  kind,  with  the  view  of  ascertaining  whether  oi-dinary  flame 
would  pass  through  tubes  of  a  small  diameter ;  and  with  this 
object  he  filed  off  the  barrels  of  several  small  keys.  Placing 
these  together,  he  held  them  perpendicularly  over  a  strong  flame, 
and  ascertained  that  it  did  not  pass  upward.     This  served   as 


104  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

further  proof  to  his  mind  of  the  soundness  of  the  principle  he  was 
pursuing. 

In  order  to  correct  the  defect  of  his  first  lamp,  Mr.  Stephenson 
accordingly  resolved  to  alter  it  so  as  to  admit  the  air  to  the  flame 
by  several  tubes  of  reduced  diameter,  instead  of  by  one  tube. 
He  inferred  that  a  sufficient  quantity  of  air  would  thus  be  intro- 
duced into  the  lamp  for  the  purposes  of  combustion,  whilst  the 
smallness  of  the  apertures  would  still  prevent  the  explosion 
passing  downwards — and  at  the  same  time,  the  "  burnt  air"  (the 
cause,  in  his  opinion,  of  the  lamp  going  out)  would  be  more 
effectually  dislodged.  He  accordingly  took  the  lamp  to  the  shop 
of  Mr.  Matthews,  a  tinman  in  Newcastle,  and  had  it  altered  so 
that  the  air  was  admitted  by  three  small  tubes  inserted  in  the 
bottom  of  the  lamp,  the  openings  of  which  were  placed  on  the 
outside  of  the  burner,  instead  of  having  (as  in  the  original  lamp) 
one  tube  opening  directly  under  the  flame. 

This  second  or  altered  lamp  was  tried  in  the  Killingworth  pit 
on  the  fourth  of  November,  and  was  found  to  burn  better  than 
the  first  lamp,  and  to  be  perfectly  safe.  But  as  it  did  not  yet 
come  up  entirely  to  the  inventor's  expectations,  he  jjroceeded  to 
contrive  a  third  lamp,  in  which  he  proposed  to  surround  the  oil 
vessel  with  a  number  of  capillary  tubes.  Then  it  struck  him, 
that  if  he  cut  off  the  middle  of  the  tubes,  or  made  holes  in  metal 
plates,  placed  at  a  distance  from  each  other  equal  to  the  length 
of  the  tubes,  the  air  would  get  in  better,  and  the  effect  in  pre- 
venting the  communication  of  explosion  would  be  the  same.  "  I 
thought,"  he  says,  "  that  the  air  would  have  easier  access,  and  the 
effect  might  be  the  same  if  I  cut  away  the  middle  of  the  tubes ; 
and  that  the  flame,  if  it  passed  through  the  apertures  at  top, 
would  not  communicate  the  explosion  to  the  hydrogen  beyond  the 
plate  below.  I  constructed  a  lamp  upon  this  principle,  and  found 
that,  the  holes  having  been  punched  very  small,  the  flame  never 
passed  even  through  the  first  plate."  * 

*  A  Description  of  the  Safety  Lamp,  invented  by  George  Stephenson,  and  now  in  U8« 
In  the  Killingworth  Colliery.     London  :  Baldwin,  Craddoek  and  Joy,  1817,  p.  8. 


* 


HIS    THIRD    LAMP.  105 

Stephenson  was  encouraged  to  persevere  in  the  completion  of 
his  safety  lamp,  by  the  occurrence  of  several  fatal  accidents  about 
this  time  in  the  Killingworth  pit.  On  the  9th  of  November,  a 
boy  was  killed  by  a  blast  in  the  A  pit,  at  the  very  place  where 
Stephenson  had  made  the  experiments  with  his  first  lamp ;  and, 
when  told  of  the  accident,  he  observed  that  if  the  boy  had  been 
provided  with  his  lamp,  his  life  would  have  been  saved. 

The  third  safety  lamp,  as  finally  designed  by  Stephenson,  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  manufacturer  on  the  24tli  of  November, 
before  he  had  heard  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy's  expei'iments,  or  of 
the  lamp  which  that  gentleman  proposed  to  construct.  And  this 
third  lamp  was  finished,  and  tried  in  the  Killingworth  pit,  on  the 
30th  of  the  same  month.  On  the  5th  of  December,  Stephenson 
exhibited  it  before  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of 
Newcastle ;  and  shortly  after  it  came  into  practical  use  in  the 
Killingworth  collieries.  To  this  day  it  is  in  regular  use  there, 
under  the  name  of  the  "  Geordy  Lamp,"  as  contradistinguished 
from  the  "  Davy ; "  and  the  Killingworth  pitmen  have  expressed 
to  the  writer  their  decided  preference  for  the  "  Geordy."  It  is 
certainly  a  strong  testimony  in  its  favor,  that  no  accident  is  known 
to  have  arisen  from  its  use,  since  it  was  first  introduced  into  the 
Killingworth  mines.  With  the  addition  of  the  wire-gauze  over 
the  glass  cylinder,  Mr.  Stephenson  expressed  his  conviction,  before 
the  committee  above  referred  to,  that,  so  altered,  his  lamp  is  th</ 
safest  for  use,  and  superior  to  every  other.* 

*  Report  on  Accidents  in  Coal  Mines,  1835,  p.  103. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

CONTROVERSY  AS  TO  THE  INVENTION  OF  THE  SAFETY  LAMP. 

AlthoiiGH  the  first  safety  lamp,  adapted  for  practical  use 
in  the  everj-day  work  of  coal-mining,  was  contrived  by  George 
Stephenson,  the  name  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  as  most  readers 
are  aware,  has  been  generally  identified  with  the  invention.  But 
a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  Avhich  sat  in  1835,  after 
making  a  careful  and  detailed  inquiry  into  the  whole  subject, 
distinctly  stated  that  "  the  pi-mciples  of  its  construction  appear 
to  have  been  practically  known  to  Clanny  and  Stephenson,  pre- 
viously to  the  period  when  Davy  brought  his  powei'ful  mind  to 
bear  upon  the  subject."  *  Not  only,  however,  were  the  principles 
of  its  construction  known  to  Stephenson,  but  he  actually  made  a 
lamp,  the  safety  of  which  he  demonstrated  by  repeated  experi- 
ments, several  months  before  Sir  Humphry  Davy  had  produced 
his  Miner's  Lamp,  or  published  his  views  upon  the  subject. 

Dr.  Clanny  had  also  constructed  a  Safety  Lamp,  before  Ste- 
phenson had  made  the  attempt,  after  a  plan  first  suggested  and 
tried  by  Humboldt.  It  was,  to  insulate  the  air  within  the  lamp 
from  the  foul  air  in  the  mine,  by  means  of  water,  and  to  keep  up 
the  supply  of  atmospheric  air  by  the  action  of  bellows.  But  this 
lamp,  though  safe,  was  found  impracticable,  and  consequently 
was  not  adopted.  What  was  wanted  was  a  lamp  that  the  miners 
could  easily  carry  about  with  them  ;  that  would  give  light  enough 

*  Report  on  Accidents  in  Mines,  Session  1835,  p.  vii.  (Parliamentary  Paper,  603.) 

(lOG) 


HIS    IDEAS    NOT    BORROWED   FROM    DAVY.  107 

to  enable  them  to  woi'k  by  in  dangerous  places,  and  yet  be  safe. 
And  such  a  lamp  Stephenson  was  unquestionably  the  first  to 
invent,  construct,  and  prove.  It  will  be  observed,  from  what  has 
been  stated,  that  the  plan  which  Stephenson  adopted  was  to  supply 
air  to  the  flame  of  the  lamp  by  means  of  small  tubes.  It  after- 
wards appeared,  from  a  paper  published  by  Sir  Humphry  Davy 
in  the  following  year,*  that  this  was  the  idea  which  he  contem- 
plated embodying  in  his  first  lamp.  But  Stephenson  had  already 
ascertained  the  same  fact,  and  confirmed  it  by  repeated  experi- 
ments with  the  two  Safety  Lamps  which  Avere  constructed  for 
him,  after  the  designs  which  he  furnished.  It  is  true,  his  theory 
of  the  "  burnt  air,"  and  of  "  the  draught,"  was  wrong ;  but  his 
lamp  was  right.  Torricelli  did  not  know  the  rationale  of  his 
Tube,  nor  Otto  Giirike  that  of  his  Air-pump ;  yet  no  one  thinks 
of  denying  them  the  merit  of  their  inventions  on  that  account. 
The  discaveries  of  Volta  and  Galvani  were  in  like  manner  inde- 
pendent of  theory ;  the  greatest  discoveries  consisting  in  bringing 
to  light  certain  grand  facts,  on  which  theories  ai'e  afterwards 
framed.  Mr.  Stephenson  pursued  the  Baconian  method,  though 
he  did  not  think  of  that,  but  of  inventing  a  safe  lamp,  which  he 
knew  could  only  be  done  through  a  process  of  repeated  experi- 
ment. He  experimented  upon  the  fire-damp  at  the  blowers  in 
the  mine,  and  also  by  means  of  the  apparatus  which  was  blown 
up  in  his  cottage,  as  above  described  by  himself.  By  experiment 
he  distinctly  ascertained  that  the  explosion  of  fire-damp  could  not 
pass  through  small  tubes ;  and  he  also  effected  what  had  not 
before  been  done  by  any  inventor — he  constructed  a  lamp  on  this 
principle,  and  repeatedly  proved  its  safety  at  the  risk  of  his  life. 
In  a  letter  published  by  ]\Jr.  Stephenson  in  the  Philosophical 
Magazinef  —  the  editor  of  which  had  given  expression  to  the 
opinion,  that  his  attempts  at  safety  tubes  and  apertures  had  been 
borrowed  from  what  he  heard  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy's  reseai'ches 

*  Philosophical  Transactions  for  1816,  part  i,  p.  11. 
t  Philosophical  Magazine  for  March,  1817. 


108  LIFE  OF    GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

— he  challenged  the  editor  to  bring  the  evidence  of  tacts  and 
dates  before  the  public,  before  venturing  to  dispute  his  veracity. 
"  If  fire-damp,"  said  he,  "  were  admitted  to  the  flame  of  a  lamp 
through  a  small  tube — that  it  would  be  consumed  by  combustion, 
and  that  explosion  would  not  pass  and  communicate  with  the 
exteraai  gas,  was  the  idea  I  had  embraced  as  the  principle  on 
which  a  safety  lamp  might  be  constructed,  and  tliis  I  stated  to 
several  persons  long  before  Sir  H.  Davy  came  into  this  part  of 
the  country.  The  plan  of  such  a  lamp  was  seen  by  several,  and 
the  lamp  itself  was  in  the  hands  of  the  manufacturer  during  the 
time  he  was  here ;  at  which  period   it  is  not  pretended  he  had 

formed  any  correct  idea  upon  which  he  intended  to  act 

That  I  pursued  the  principle  thus  discovered  and  applied,  and 
constructed  a  lamp  with  three  tubes,  and  one  with  small  perfora- 
tions, without  knowing  that  Sir  Humphry  Davy  had  adopted  the 
same  idea,  and  without  receiving  any  hint  of  his  experiments,  is 
what  I  solemnly  assert." 

Indeed  it  is  perfectly  clear,  from  the  dates  at  which  the  results 
of  Sir  Humphry  Davy's  experiments  Avith  fire-damp  were  pub- 
lished, that  it  was  simply  impossible  for  IVIr.  Stephenson  to  have 
borrowed  any  of  his  ideas  or  plans.  The  latter,  it  A\ill  be  re- 
membered, had  prepared  the  plan  of  his  first  safety  lamp  as  early 
as  August,  1815,  at  which  time  Sir  Humphry  Davy  had  not 
given  much  consideration  to  the  subject,  nor  formed  any  definite 
ideas  upon  it.  On  the  29  th  of  September  following,  Davy  wrote 
to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hodgson,  requesting  a  supply  of  fire-damp  from 
a  blower,  and  informing  him,  at  the  same  time,  that  "  he  had 
tliouo'ht  a  good  deal  on  the  prevention  of  explosions  from  fire- 
damp, and  entertained  strong  hopes  of  being  able  to  effect  some- 
thing satisfactory  on  the  subject."  *  It  is  obvious,  then,  that  at 
that  date  Sir  Humphry  had  not  discovered  the  tube  principle, 
nor  applied  it  ui  the  invention  of  a  lamp.     Sir  H.  Davy,  shortly 

*  Letter  published  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hodgson  in  support  of  Sir  H.  Davy's  claims,  in  th« 
Newcastle  Couranl  of  February  1st,  1817- 


SIR  H.  Davy's  experiments.  109 

after  this  time,  is  found  in  correspondence  with  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Hodgson  as  to  the  principle  afterward  enunciated  by  him,  that 
explosion  would  not  pass  down  small  tubes;  and  on  the  19th  of 
October  he  wrote  a  private  letter,  communicating  his  views  on 
the  subject;  but  Mr.  Hodgson  regarded  this  letter  as  strictly 
confidential,  and  did  not  in  any  way  communicate  it  to  the  public. 
Mr.  Stephenson,  it  will  be  remembered,  placed  the  plan  of  his 
lamp  in  the  hands  of  the  Newcastle  tinman  in  the  beginning  of 
October;  and  it  was  made  and  delivered  to  him  on  the  21st  of 
October,  after  which  it  was  tested  at  the  blower  in  the  Killing- 
worth  pit,  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day.  Up  to  this  time 
nothing  was  known  of  the  nature  or  results  of  Sir  H.  Davy's 
experiments.  But  on  the  31st  of  October  Davy  communicated 
the  fact  which  he  had  now  discovered  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gray,  then 
Rector  of  Bishop  "VYearmouth  (afterwards  Bishop  of  Bristol),  in 
a  communication  intended  to  be  private,*  but  which  was  inadver- 
tently read  at  a  public  meeting  of  coal-miners,  held  at  Newcastle, 
on  the  3d  of  November  following.  In  that  letter  he  stated, 
"  Wlien  a  lamp  or  candle  is  made  to  burn  in  a  close  vessel, 
having  apertures  only  above  and  below,  an  explosive  mixture  of 
gas  admitted  merely  enlarges  the  light,  and  then  gradually  ex- 
tinguishes it  without  explosion.  Again;  the  gas  mixed  in  any 
proportion  with  common  air,  I  have  discovered,  will  not  explode 
in  a  small  tube,  the  diameter  of  which  is  not  less  than  one-eighth 
of  an  inch,  or  even  a  larger  tube,  if  there  is  a  mechanical  force 
urging  the  gas  through  the  tube."  This  was  the  first  public  inti- 
mation of  the  result  of  Sir  H.  Davy's  investigations ;  and  it  has 
been  stated  as  probable,  that  the  information  was  conveyed  to 
Mr.  Stephenson  by  some  of  his  friends  who  might  have  attended 
the  meeting.  Supposing  this  to  be  so,  it  contained  nothing  which 
he  had  not  already  verified  by  repeated  experiments.  The  fact 
that  explosion  would  not  pass  through  small  tubes  was  by  this 
time  perfectly  well  known  to  him.     He  had  been  continuing  his 

*  Paris's  Life  of  Davy,  4to  cd.,  p.  314. 


110  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

experiments  during  the  end  of  October  and  the  beginning  of 
November ;  his  second  and  improved  lamp,  constructed  on  this 
very  principle,  was  ah-eady  completed,  and  it  was  actually  tried 
in  the  Killingworth  mine  on  the  4th  of  November,  the  very  day 
following  the  meeting  at  which  Sir  Humphry  Davy's  discovery 
was  first  announced.  Wliereas  the  Tube  Safety  Lamp,  which 
the  latter  had  constructed  on  the  principle  above  stated,  was  not 
presented  to  the  Royal  Society  until  the  9  th  of  November  follow- 
ing. Thus,  Mr.  Stephenson  had  mvented  and  tested  two  several 
tube  lamps  before  Sir  Humphry  Davy  had  presented  his  first 
lamp  to  the  public. 

The  subject  of  this  important  invention  Avas  exciting  so  much 
interest  in  the  northern  mining  districts,  and  Mr.  Stephenson's 
numerous  friends  considered  his  lamp  so  completely  successful — 
having  stood  the  test  of  repeated  experiments — that  they  urged 
him  to  bring  his  invention  before  the  Philosophical  and  Literary 
Society  of  Newcastle,  of  some  of  whose  apparatus  he  had  availed 
himself  in  the  course  of  his  experiments  on  fire-damp.     After 
much  persuasion,  he  consented  to  do  so ;  and  a  meeting  was  ap- 
pointed for  the  purpose  of  receivmg  his  explanations,  on  the 
evening  of  the  5th  of  December,  1815.     Mr.  Stephenson  was  at 
that  time  so  dif&dent  in  manner  and  unpracticed  in  speech,  that  he 
took  with  him  his  friend,  Mr.  Nicholas  Wood,  to  act  as  his  inter- 
preter and  expositor  on  the  occasion.    From  eighty  to  a  hundred 
of  the  most  intelligent  members  of  the  Society  were  present  at 
the  meeting,  when  Mr.  "Wood  stood  forward  to  expound  the  prin- 
ciples on  which  the  lamp  had  been  formed,  and  to  describe  the 
details  of  its  construction.     Several  questions  were  put,  to  which 
Mr.  Wood  proceeded  to  give  replies  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge. 
But   Stephenson,  who  up  to  that  time  had  stood  behind  Wood, 
screened  from  notice,  observing  that  the  explanations  given  were 
not  quite  correct,  could  no  longer  control  his  reserve ;  and  stand- 
ing forward,  he  proceeded,  in  his  strong  Northumbrian  dialect,  to 
describe  the  lamp,  down  to  its  mmutest  details.     He  then  pro- 


Davy's  lamp.  Ill 

duced  several  bladders  full  of  carburetted  hydrogen,  which  he 
had  collected  from  the  blowers  in  the  Killingworth  mine,  and 
proved  the  safety  of  his  lamp  by  numerous  experiments  with  the 
gas,  repeated  in  various  ways ;  his  earnest  and  impressive  man- 
ner exciting  in  the  minds  of  his  auditors  the  liveliest  interest 
both  in  the  inventor  and  his  invention. 

Sir  Humphry  Davy  had  not,  at  this  time,  sent  down  to  his 
friends  in  Newcastle  a  specimen  of  his  lamp ;  but  on  the  1 4th  of 
December  he  wrote  thus  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gray :  "  I  tru^t  I  shall 
be  able  in  a  very  few  days  to  send  you  a  model  of  a  lanthom 
nearly  as  simple  as  a  common  glass  lanthorn,  and  which  cannot 
communicate  explosion  to  the  fire-damp."  He  further  explained 
that  the  lamp  was  to  be  constructed  on  the  principle,  that  "  the 
fire-damp  will  not  explode  in  tubes  or  feeders  of  a  certaim  small 
diameter,"  and  that  "  the  ingress  into  and  egress  of  air,  from  this 
lanthorn,  is  through  such  small  tubes  or  feeders."  *  Shortly 
after,  Sir  H.  Davy's  model  lamp  was  received,  and  exhibited  to 
the  coal-miners  at  jSTewcastle,  on  which  occasion  the  observation 
was  made  by  several  gentlemen,  "^Vliy,  it  is  the  same  as 
Stephenson's ! " 

Notwithstanding  Mr.  Stephenson's  claim  to  be  regarded  as  the 
first  inventor  of  the  Tube  Safety  Lamp,  his  merits  do  not  seem 
to  have  been  recognized  at  the  time  beyond  the  limits  of  his 
own  district.  Sir  Humphry  Davy  can-ied  off  all  the  eclat  which 
attached  to  the  discoveiy.  What  chance  had  the  unknown 
workman  of  Killingworth  with  so  distinguished  a  competitor? 
The  one  was  as  yet  but  a  colliery  engine-wright,  scarce  raised 
above  the  manual-labor  class,  without  chemical  knowledge  or 
literary  culture,  pursuing  his  experiments  in  obscurity,  with  a 
view  only  to  usefulness ;  the  other  was  the  scientific  prodigy  of 
his  day,  the  pet  of  the  Royal  Society,  the  favorite  of  princes,  the 
most  brilhant  of  lecturers,  and  the  most  popular  of  philosophers. 
Davy  had  not  in  him  much  of  the  patient  plodding  of  the  experi- 

*  Paris's  Life  of  Davy,  4to  ed.,  pp.  314,  315. 


112  LIFE  OF   GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

mentalist,  but  he  divined  science  as  if  by  inspiration.  He  had 
the  temperament  and  genius  of  a  poet,  which  blazed  forth  in 
dazzling  eloquence,  winning  for  him  alike  the  admiration  of  fash- 
ionable ladies,  and  of  learned  philosophers,  and  making  his 
lectures  and  experiments  "  the  rage "  of  the  hour.  The  press 
blazoned  forth  his  discoveries  and  enhanced  his  magnificent 
reputation  ;  and  when  he  presented  his  Davy  Lamp  to  the  world, 
it  was  regarded  as  but  one  of  the  many  brilliant  achievements 
M'hich  his  grand  and  original  genius  had  conquered. 

But  George  Stephenson,  though  a  less  brilliant,  was  a  no  less 
useful  and  original  worker ;  and  when  the  merit  of  inventing  the 
safety  lamp  became  the  subject  of  discussion,  it  was  only  reason- 
able and  proper  that  his  claims  should  be  fairly  considered.  He 
had  risked  his  life  in  testing  the  safety  of  his  lamp,  before  Sir 
Humphry  Davy  had  even  formed  a  definite  opinion  on  the  sub- 
ject. And  though  the  theory  on  which  Stephenson  constructed 
his  lamp  was  erroneous,  he  had  proved  it  to  be  a  safety  lamp  to 
all  intents  and  purposes.  He  had  discovered  the  lamp,  though 
not  its  rationale.  Such  being  the  case,  he  calmly  yet  firmly 
asserted  his  claims  as  its  inventor. 

No  small  indignation  was  expressed  by  the  friends  of  Sir 
Humphry  Davy  at  this  "presumption"  on  Stephenson's  part. 
The  scientific  class  united  to  ignore  him  entirely  in  the  matter. 
Like  many  other  select  corporations,  your  men  of  the  scientific 
societies  were  then  too  ready  to  set  their  shoulders  together  to 
keep  out  any  new  and  self-raised  man,  who  obtruded  himself  as 
an  inventor  or  discoverer,  in  what  they  regarded  as  their  special 
domain.  Stephenson  afterwards  had  the  same  battle  to  fight 
with  the  civil  engineers,  who,  even  for  some  time  after  he  had 
been  a  constructor  of  gigantic  railway  works,  refused  to  recognize 
"the  colliery  engine-wright"  as  entitled  to  I'ank  amongst  the  class 
of  scientific  engineers. 

In  1831,  Dr.  Paris,  in  his  "Life  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy,"* 

*  p.  328,  4to  ed.,  1831.    London  :  Col'burn  and  Bcntley. 


INVENTION  OF  THE  SAFETY  LAMP.         113 

thus  spoke  of  Stephenson,  in  connection  with  his  claims  as  an 
inventor  of  the  safety  lamp  :  - —  "It  will  hereafter  be  scarcely  be- 
lieved that  an  invention  so  eminently  scientific,  and  which  could 
never  have  been  derived  but  from  the  sterUng  treasury  of  science, 
should  have  been  claimed  on  behalf  of  an  engine-wright  of  Kil- 
lingworth,  of  the  name  of  Stephenson  —  a  person  not  even 
possessing  a  knowledge  of  the  elements  of  chemistry." 

But  Stephenson  was  really  far  above  claiming  for  himself  an 
invention  which  did  not  belong  to  him.  He  had  ali'eady  accom- 
plished a  far  greater  thing  than  even  the  making  of  a  safety  lamp 
— he  had  constructed  the  first  successful  locomotive,  which  was 
to  be  seen  daily  at  work  upon  the  Killingworth  railway.  By  the 
important  improvements  he  had  made  in  the  engine,  he  might 
almost  be  said  to  have  invented  it ;  but  no  one  —  not  even  the 
philosophers  —  detected  as  yet  the  significance  of  that  wonderful 
machine.  It  excited  no  scientific  interest,  called  forth  no  leading 
articles  in  the  newspapers  or  the  reviews,  and  formed  the  subject 
of  no  eloquent  lectures  at  the  Royal  Society ;  for  raihvays  were, 
as  yet,  comparatively  unknown,  and  the  might  which  slumbered 
in  the  locomotive  was  scarcely,  as  yet,  even  dreamt  of.  What 
railways  were  to  become,  rested  in  a  great  measure  with  that 
"  engine-wright  of  Killingworth,  of  the  name  of  Stephenson," 
though  he  was  scarcely  known  as  yet  beyond  the  limits  of  his 
own  district. 

As  to  the  value  of  the  invention  of  the  safety  lamp,  there  could 
be  no  doubt ;  and  the  colliery  owners  of  Durham  and  Northum- 
berland, to  testify  their  sense  of  its  importance,  determined  to 
present  a  testimonial  to  its  inventor.  A  meeting  of  coal-owners 
was  called  to  consider  the  subject ;  but,  previous  to  its  taking 
place,  Mr.  Robert  "William  Brandling,  of  Gosforth,  a  warm  friend 
of  Stephenson,  although  he  could  not  attend  the  meeting,  anxious 
that  justice  should  be  done  in  the  matter,  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
committee,  dated  the  22d  August,  181 G,  in  which  he  expressed 

the  wish  that  a  strict  examination  should  take  place  previous  to 
8 


114  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

the  adoption  of  any  measure  which  might  cany  a  decided  opinion 
to  the  pubhc,  as  to  the  person  to  whom  tlie  invahiable  discovery 
of  the  safety  lamp  was  actually  due.  "  The  conviction,"  said  he, 
"  upon  my  mind  is,  that  Mr.  George  Stephenson,  of  Killingworth 
Colliery,  is  the  person  who  first  discovered  and  applied  the  prin- 
ciple upon  which  safety  lamps  may  be  constructed ;  for,  whethei 
the  hydrogen  gas  is  admitted  through  capillary  tubes,  or  through 
the  apertures  of  wire-gauze,  which  may  be  considered  as  merely 
the  orifices  of  capillary  tubes,  does  not,  as  I  conceive,  in  the  least 
affect  the  principle."  *  The  subsequent  publication  of  this  letter 
formed  the  commencement  of  an  animated  controversy,  which 
proceeded  for  some  time  in  the  local  papers,  and  from  them 
became  transferred  to  the  scientific  journals  of  the  day. 

On  the  31st  of  August  following,  a  meeting  of  the  coal-owners 
was  held  at  Newcastle,  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  Sir  Hum- 
phry Davy  with  a  reward  for  "the  invention  of  Jus  Safety  Lamp." 
To  this  no  objection  could  be  taken ;  for  though  the  principle  on 
which  the  first  safety  lamps  of  Stephenson  and  Davy  were  con- 
structed was  the  same ;  and  although  Stephenson's  lamp  was, 
unquestionably,  the  first  successful  lamp  that  was  constructed  on 
such  principle,  and  proved  to  be  efficient — jet  Sir  H.  Davy  did 
invent  a  safety  lamp,  no  doubt  quite  independent  of  aU  that 
Stephenson  had  done ;  and,  having  directed  his  careful  attention 
to  the  subject,  and  elucidated  the  true  theory  of  explosion  of  car- 
buretted  hydrogen,  he  w^as  entitled  to  all  praise  and  reward  for 
his  labors.  But  when  the  meeting  of  coal-owners  proposed  to 
raise  a  subscription  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  Sir  H.  Davy 
with  a  reward  for  "  his  invention  of  the  safety  lamp,"  the  case 
was  entirely  altered ;  and  Mr.  Stephenson's  friends  then  pro- 
ceeded to  assert  his  claims  to  be  regarded  as  its  first  inventor. 

Considerable  discussion  took  place  at  the  meeting  referred  to, 
after  which  it  was  adjourned  until  the  11th  of  October,  when  the 
coal-owners  again  met,  John  George  Lambton,  Esq.,  afterwards 

*  Durham  County  Advertiser,  October  19th,  1816. 


AWARD    OF   PREMIUMS.  115 

Earl  of  Durham,  occupying  the  chair.  Mr.  Brandling  proposed 
a  further  adjournment  "  until,  by  a  comparison  of  dates,  and  an 
inquiry  into  facts,  it  shall  be  ascertained  whether  the  merit  of  the 
invention  of  the  safety  lamp  is  due  to  Sir  Humphry  Davy  or  to 
George  Stephenson."  *  Mr.  Brandling,  himself  an  inventor  of  a 
safety  lamp,  and  a  gentleman  thoroughly  conversant  with  the 
subject,  declared  his  conviction  that  Stephenson  was  entitled  to 
be  regarded  as  "the  inventor  of  the  safety  lamp  ;"  and  he  was 
supported  by  IMr.  Arthur  Mowbray  and  other  coal-o^vners 
present.  The  proposition  was,  however,  negatived ;  on  which 
3Ir.  Brandling  and  others  retired  from  the  meeting,  and  a  com- 
mittee was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  subscriptions 
towards  a  testimonial  to  be  presented  to  Sir  Humphry  Davy. 
The  result  was  that  a  sum  of  £2000  was  presented  to  that 
distinguished  gentleman,  as  "the  inventor  of  the  safety  lamp;" 
but,  at  the  same  time,  a  purse  of  100  guineas  was  voted  to 
George  Stephenson,  in  consideration  of  what  he  had  done  in  the 
same  direction.  Tliis  result  was,  however,  very  unsatisfactory 
to  Stephenson,  as  well  as  to  his  friends. 

The  advocates  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy's  claim,  in  their  zeal  for 
him,  went  so  far  as  to  insinuate  that  Stephenson  had  borrowed  or 
pirated  Davy's  idea.  Humble  though  his  position  was,  Stephen- 
son felt  that,  when  brought  forward  as  the  man  entitled  to  the 
credit  of  inventing  the  lamp — remembering,  moreover,  how  much 
of  his  time  and  labor  he  had  given  to  the  work,  and  knowing  that 
he  had  risked  his  life  in  testing  the  efficiency  of  his  invention — 
it  was  due  to  himself,  firmly  but  modestly,  to  vindicate  his  claims, 
and  to  repudiate  the  charge  brought  against  him  of  having  stolen 
the  idea  of  another.  His  friend,  Mr.  Brandling,  of  Gosforth, 
then  suggested  to  him  that,  the  subject  being  now  foirly  before 
the  public,  he  should  publish  a  statement  of  the  facts  on  which 
his  claim  was  founded. 

*  A  Collection  of  all  the  Letters  which  have  appeared  in  the  Newcastle  Papers,  with 
other  Documents,  relating  to  Safety  Lamps.    London :  Baldwin,  Cradock  and  Joy,  1817 


116  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHEXSOX. 

This  was  not  at  all  in  George  Stephenson's  line.  He  had 
never  appeared  in  print  before ;  and  it  seemed  to  him  to  be  a 
more  formidable  thing  to  write  a  letter  for  publication  in  "  the 
papers,"  than  even  to  invent  a  safety  lamp  or  to  design  a  loco- 
motive. However,  he  called  to  his  aid  his  son  Robert,  set  him 
down  before  a  sheet  of  foolscap,  and  when  all  was  ready,  told  him 
to  "  put  down  there  just  what  I  tell  you."  The  writing  of  this 
letter  occupied  more  evenings  than  one ;  and  when  it  was  at 
length  finished  after  many  corrections,  and  fairly  copied  out,  the 
father  and  son  set  out — the  latter  dressed  in  his  Sunday's  round 
jacket — to  lay  the  joint  production  before  JMr.  Brandling,  at 
Gosforth  House.  Glancing  over  the  letter,  Mr.  Brandling  said, 
"  George,  this  will  not  do."  "  It  is  all  true,  su-,"  was  the  reply. 
"  That  may  be ;  but  it  is  badly  written."  Robert  blushed,  for  he 
thought  it  was  the  penmanship  that  was  called  in  question,  and 
he  had  written  his  very  best.  ISIi*.  Brandling  requested  his  vis- 
itors to  sit  down,  while  he  put  the  letter  in  a  more  polished  form, 
which  he  did,  and  it  was  shortly  after  pubhshed  in  the  local 
papers. 

In  that  and  subsequent  communications,  'Mr.  Stephenson 
treated  as  an  ungenerous  insult  the  insmuations  made  against 
him,  that  he  was  pretending  to  run  a  race  of  science  with  Sir 
Humphry  Davy.  "  "With  means,"  said  he,  "  too  limited  to  allow 
me  to  indulge  myself  by  purchasing  many  of  those  beautiful  in- 
sti'uments  that  facilitate  the  labors  of  the  experimental  philoso- 
pher—  with  not  always  one  day's  respite  in  the  week  from  a 
laborious  employment  —  it  is  impossible  that  Mr.  Hodgson  (his 
controversial  opponent)  could  have  imagined  I  had  the  folly  and 
presumption  to  enter  the  lists  with  a  gentleman  of  talents  and 
fortune,  whose  time  has  long  been  and  still  is  devoted  to  the 
pursuit,  who  has  an  opportunity  of  having  his  ideas  brought 
immediately  to  the  test  of  experiment,  and  who  for  that  purpose 
(an  advantage  beyond  all  others)  can  command  the  assistance  of 
such  an  artist  as  Mr.  Newman. 


CONTROVERSY.  117 

"  Whether  or  not  Mr.  Brandling  be  justified  in  the  opinion  he 
has  exjjressed,  it  appears  to  me  may  easily  be  decided ;  and  if  it 
can  be  proved  that  I  took  advantage,  in  the  formation  of  the 
Safety  Lamp,  of  any  suggestions,  except  the  printed  opinions  of 
scientitic  men,  I  deserve  to  lose  the  confidence  of  my  honorable 
employers  and  the  good  opinion  of  my  fellow  men,  which  I  feel 
an  honest  pride  in  declaring,  even  in  my  humble  situation  in  life, 
is  of  more  value  in  my  estimation  than  any  reward  that  generous 
but  indiscriminating  affluence  can  bestow."  * 

As  a  vehement  controversy  continued  to  be  carried  on  in  the 
Newcastle  papers  as  to  the  relative  merits  of  the  respective 
claimants,  JMr.  Stephenson,  in  the  year  1817,  consented  to  pub- 
lish the  detailed  plans,  with  descriptions,  of  the  several  safety 
lamps  which  he  had  contrived  for  use  in  the  Killingworth  Col- 
liery. The  whole  forms  a  pamphlet  of  only  sixteen  pages  of 
letter-press,  f     He  there  says  : 

"Several  of  my  friends  having  expressed  a  wish  that  I  would 
lay  an  engraved  plan  of  my  safety  lamp  before  the  public,  Avith 
as  correct  an  account  of  the  dates  of  the  invention  as  I  am  able, 
I  have  resolved  to  do  so.  I  was,  at  the  same  time,  advised  to 
publish  the  steps  by  which  I  was  led  to  this  discovery,  and  the 
theory  I  had  formed  in  my  own  mind  upon  the  subject,  which, 
■with  the  facts  from  which  I  drew  my  conclusions,  were  freely 
communicated  to  several  persons  during  the  time  I  was  engaged 
in  the  pursuit.  With  this  I  cannot  persuade  myself  to  comply ; 
my  habits  as  a  practical  mechanic,  make  me  afraid  of  publishing 
theories ;  and  I  am  by  no  means  satisfied  that  my  own  reasons, 
or  any  of  those  I  have  seen  published,  why  hydrogen  gas  will 
not  explode  through  small  apertures,  are  the  true  ones.  It  is 
sufficient  for  our  present  purpose  that  that  fact  has  been  dis- 

*  A  Collection  of  Letters,  etc.,  relating  to  the  Safety  Lamp,  p.  38. 

t  A  Description  of  the  Safety  Lamp,  inTcnted  by  George  Stephenson,  and  now  in  use 
in  the  Killingworth  Colliery  ;  to  which  is  added,  an  account  of  the  lamp  constructed  by 
Sir  Humphry  Davy  :  with  Engravings.    London  :  Baldwin,  Cradock  and  Jov.  1817. 


118  LIFE   OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

covered,  and  that  it  has  been  successfully  applied  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  lamp  that  may  be  carried  with  perfect  safety  into 
the  most  explosive  atmosphere. 

"  I  have  had  frequent  opportunities  of  employing  my  leisure 
hours  in  making  experiments  upon  hydrogen  gas  ;  the  result  of 
these  experiments  has  been  the  discovery  of  the  fact  above 
stated,  and  the  consequent  formation  of  a  safety  lamp,  which  has 
been,  and  is  stUl,  used  in  the  Killingvvorth  Colliery,  and  which 
my  friends  consider  (with  what  justice  the  public  must  decide) 
as  precisely  the  same  in  principle  with  that  subsequently  pre- 
sented to  their  notice  by  Sir  Humpluy  Davy." 

After  setting  forth  the  dates  at  which  Sir  Humphry  Davy 
made  known  to  the  public  the  several  results  of  his  investiga- 
tions with  respect  to  the  explosive  conditions  of  fire-damp,  and 
of  his  presentation  of  his  first  tube  lamp  to  the  Royal  Society, 
(on  the  9th  Nov.  1815,)  Mr.  Stephenson  goes  on  to  say: 

"  To  the  above  facts  and  dates  I  have  now  only  to  request  the 
attention  of  the  public,  begging  them  particularly  to  observe, 
that,  without  adverting  to  the  time  when  I  first  embraced  the 
idea,  the  principle  upon  which  the  tube  lamp  is  constructed  was 
published,  and  a  plan  of  it  shown,  early  in  September,  and  that 
it  was  actually  burning  in  the  mine  on  the  21st  of  October;  that 
Sir  Humphry  Davy  does  not  announce  his  discovery  of  the  fact, 
that  explosion  will  not  pass  down  tubes,  till  the  19th  of  October 
in  a  private  letter  to  Mr.  Hodgson ;  that  my  double-perforated 
plate  lamp  was  certainly  ordered  some  time  before  the  24th  of 
November,  tried  in  the  mine  on  the  30th  of  the  same  month ; 
and  that  the  earliest  notice  I  had  of  Sir  Humphry  Davy  having 
applied  wire-gauze  for  the  same  purpose,  was  from  the  'New- 
castle Chronicle'  of  the  23d  of  December. 

"  Upon  the  important  variation  recommended  in  some  cases  by 
Sir  Humphry  Davy,  in  his  communication  of  the  9th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1816,  which  renders  his  lamp  the  same  as  mine,  both  in  con- 
struction and  principle,  it  is  uimecessary  for  me  to  dwell.     In  the 


CONTROVERSY.  119 

judgment  that  will  be  pronounced  upon  this  statement  I  feel  the 
greatest  confidence.  This,  at  least,  I  trust,  I  shall  have  credit 
for,  that  in  this  publication  I  have  been  actuated  solely  by  a  jus- 
tifiable attention  to  my  own  reputation,  and  a  sincere  desire  to 
have  the  truth  investigated,  and  not  by  any  disgraceful  feeUng 
of  envy  at  the  rewards  and  honors  which  have  been  bestowed 
upon  a  gentleman  who  has  directed  his  talents  to  the  same  object, 
and  whose  reputation  is  too  well  estabUshed  to  be  injured  by 
me,  even  if  I  had  the  baseness  to  attempt  it." 

Mr.  Stephenson's  friends,  being  fully  satisfied  of  liis  claims  to 
priority,  as  the  inventor  of  the  safety  lamp  used  in  the  Killing- 
worth  and  other  collieries,  proceeded  to  hold  a  public  meeting  * 
for  the  purpose  of  presenting  him  with  a  reward  "for  the  valu- 
able service  he  had  thus  rendered  to  mankind."  Chai'les  J. 
Brandling,  Esq.,  occupied  the  chair ;  and  a  sei'ies  of  resolutions 
were  passed,  of  which  the  first  and  most  important  was  as  fol- 
lows : 

"That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  Mr.  George  Ste- 
phenson, having  discovered  the  fact  that  explosion  of  hydrogen 
gas  will  not  pass  through  tubes  and  apertures  of  small  dimen- 
sions, and  having  been  the  first  to  apply  that  principle  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  safety  lamp,  is  entitled  to  a  public  reward." 

A  subscription  was  immediately  commenced  with  this  object, 
and  a  highly  influential  committee  was  formed,  consisting  of  the 
Earl  of  Strathraore,  C.  J.  Brandling  and  others. 

The  subscription  list  was  headed  by  Lord  Ravensworth,  one 
of  the  partners  of  the  Killingworth  Colliery,  who  showed  his  ap- 
preciation of  the  merits  of  Stephenson  by  giving  100  gumeas. 
C.  J.  Brandling  and  partners  gave  a  like  sum ;  and  Matthew 
Bell  and  partners,  and  John  Brandling  and  pai'tners,  gave  fifty 
guineas  each. 

When  the  resolutions  of  Ste2)henson'3  friends  appeared  in  the 
newspapers,   the    scientific  friends   of  Sir   Humphry    Davy   in 

*  Ucld  at  Newcastle  on  the  Ist  of  Nov.  1817. 


120  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

London  met,  and  passed  a  series  of  counter-resolutions,  which 
thej  published,  declaring  their  opinion  that  Mr.  Stephenson  was 
not  the  autlior  of  the  discovery  of  the  fact  that  explosion  of 
hydrogen  will  not  pass  through  tubes  and  apertures  of  small  di- 
mensions, and  that  he  was  not  the  first  to  apply  that  principle  to 
the  construction  of  a  safety  lamp.  To  these  counter-resolutions 
were  attached  the  well-known  names  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  P.  R. 
S.,  William  Thomas  Brande,  Charles  Hatchett,  W.  H.  WoUas- 
ton,  and  Thomas  Young. 

Mr.  Stephenson's  friends  then,  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure, 
and  with  a  view  to  set  the  question  at  rest,  determined  to  take 
evidence  in  detail  as  to  the  date  of  discovery  by  George  Stephen- 
son of  the  fact  in  question,  and  its  practical  application  by  him  in 
the  formation  and  actual  trial  of  his  safety  lamp.  The  witnesses 
examined  were,  George  Stephenson  himself,  Mr.  Nicholas  Wood, 
and  John  Moodie,  who  had  been  present  at  the  first  trial  of  the 
lamp ;  the  several  tinmen  who  made  the  lamps ;  the  secretary 
and  other  members  of  the  Literaiy  and  Philosophical  Society  of 
Newcastle,  who  were  present  at  the  exhibition  of  the  third  lamp  ; 
and  some  of  the  workmen  at  Killingworth  Colliery,  who  had 
been  witnesses  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  experiments  on  fire-damp, 
made  with  the  lamps  at  various  periods,  considerably  before  Sir 
Humphry  Davy's  investigations  were  heard  of.  This  evidence 
was  quite  conclusive  to  the  gentlemen  who  investigated  the  sub- 
ject, and  they  published  it  in  1817,  together  Avith  their  repoi't, 
in  which  they  solemnly  declared  that,  "after  a  careful  inquiry 
into  the  merits  of  the  case,  conducted,  as  they  trust,  in  a  spirit  of 
fiiirness  and  moderation,  they  can  perceive  no  satisfactory  reason 
for  changing  their  opinion."  * 

After  setting  forth  a  comparative  table  of  facts  and  dates,  in 
proof  of  their  assertion  "that  Mr.   Stephenson  was  the  first  to 

*  Report  upon  the  Claims  of  George  Stephenson  relative  to  the  Inrention  of  his  Safety 
Lamp,  by  the  Committee  appointed  at  a  meeting  hokleh  in  Newcastle  on  the  1st  of  No- 
vember, 1817  ;  with  an  appendix,  containing  the  Eyidence.     Newcastle  :  Hodgson,  1817 


MR.  Stephenson's  testimonial.  121 

construct  a  lamp  upon  the  principle  in  question,"  tlie  report  pro- 
ceeds : 

"When  the  friends  of  Mr.  Stephenson  remember  the  humble 
and  laborious  station  of  life  which  he  has  occupied ;  when  they 
consider  the  scanty  means  and  opportunities  which  he  has  had 
for  pursuing  the  researches  of  science ;  and  look  to  the  improve- 
ments and  discoveries  which,  notwithstanding  so  many  disad- 
vantages, he  has  been  enabled  to  make  by  the  judicious  and 
unremitting  exercise  of  the  energy  and  acuteness  of  his  natural 
understanding,  they  cannot  persuade  themselves  that  they  have 
said  anything  more  than  every  liberal  and  feeling  mind  would 
most  readily  admit." 

The  Stephenson  subscription,  when  collected,  amounted  to 
about  1000^.,  which  was  presented  to  him,  together  with  a  silver 
tankard,  at  a  public  dinner  given  in  the  Assembly  Eooms  at 
Newcastle,  in  the  month  of  January  (1818)  following.  Mr. 
Brandling,  on  presenting  the  testimonial,  observed:  "A  great 
deal  of  controversy,  and,  he  was  sorry  to  say,  of  animosity,  had 
prevailed  upon  the  subject  of  the  'safety  lamp;'  but  this,  he 
trusted,  after  the  example  of  moderation  that  had  been  set  by 
Mr.  Stephenson's  friends,  would  subside,  and  all  personalities 
would  cease  to  be  remembei*ed.  As  to  the  claim  of  that  mdivid- 
ual,  to  testify  their  gratitude  to  whom  they  were  that  day  assem- 
bled, he  thought  every  doubt  must  have  been  removed  from  the 
minds  of  unprejudiced  persons  by  a  perusal  of  the  evidence  re- 
cently laid  before  the  public.  He  begged  Mr.  Stephenson's 
acceptance  of  this  token  of  their  esteem,  wishing  him  health 
long  to  enjoy  it,  and  to  enable  him  to  employ  those  talents  with 
which  Providence  had  blessed  him,  for  the  benefit  of  his  fellow- 
creatures." 

On  returning  thanks  for  the  honor  done  him,  Mr.  Stephenson 
said:  "I  shall  ever  reflect  with  pride  and  gratitude  that  my 
labors  have  been  honored  with  the  approbation  of  such  a  dis- 
tinguished meeting ;  and  you  may  rest  assured  that  my  time,  and 


122  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

any  talent  I  may  possess,  shall  hereafter  be  employed  m  such  a 
manner  as  not  to  give  you,  gentlemen,  any  cause  to  regret  the 
countenance  and  support  which  you  have  so  generously  afTorded 
me."  That  Stephenson  amply  fulfilled  his  promise  and  pledge 
to  his  friends,  his  future  career  abundantly  proved. 

But  what  said  Sir  Humphry  Davy  as  to  this  testimonial  pre- 
sented to  Stephenson  for  having  invented  the  safety  lamp  ?  In 
a  private  letter,*  written  at  the  time,  he  characterized  as  "in- 
famous" the  resolutions  adopted  by  Mr.  Stephenson's  supporters, 
alleging  that  he  had  only  "pirated"  his  invention.  "It  will  turn 
out,"  said  he,  alluding  to  the  Stephenson  testimonial,  "a  very  dis- 
graceful business  for  the  persons  who  have  agitated  it;"  and  in 
another  letter  he  said,  "there  never  was  a  more  gross  imposture 
than  that  of  Stephenson." 

Whilst  Sir  Humphry  Davy  spoke  thus  bitterly  in  his  private 
letters,  it  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  he  never  once  in  his 
published  papers  on  the  subject,  alluded  to  the  fact  that  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson had  constructed  and  tested  a  safety  lamp  in  the  mine, 
months  before  his  own  was  invented,  although,  as  appears  from 
a  private  letter  since  published  by  Dr.  Paris,  in  his  "  Life  of 
Davy,"  he  was  aware  of  the  fact.f  Nor  did  he  refer  to  Hum- 
boldt's contrivance  of  a  safety  lamp  in  1796,  on  a  plan  similar 
to  that  afterwards  adopted  by  Di-.  Clanny.J  Indeed,  the  manner 
in  which  he  alluded  to  the  last  named  gentleman,  who  was  the 
first  to  show  Sir  H.  Davy  a  safety  lamp,  imperfect  though  it 
might  be,  was  considered  very  disrespectful  by  Dr.  Clanny  and 
his  friends. 

Now,  that  all  angry  feelings  between  the  contending  parties 
have  softened  down,  it  is  not  perhaps  very  dilficult  to  get  at  the 
truth  of  this  controversy.  From  what  we  have  stated,  we  think 
it  must  be  admitted  that  the  fact  that  carburetted  hydrogen  will 

*  Since  published  in  the  Mechanics^  Magazine,  vol.  liv,  p.  423. 
t  Paris's  Life  of  Davy,  4to  ed.,  p.  336. 
+  Journal  des  Mines,  torn,  viii,  p.  S39. 


THE   TUBE   LAMP.  123 

not  explode  down  narrow  tubes  was  discovered  by  Stephenson, 
and  that  this  fact  or  principle  was  applied  by  him  in  the  inven- 
tion of  three  successive  lamps  constructed  under  his  directions, 
all  perfectly  safe.  Sir  Humphry  Davy  discovered  the  same  fact 
about  the  same  time,  but  most  probably  at  a  subsequent  date,  and 
afterwards  constructed  a  safety  lamp  which  was  preferred  to  that 
of  Stephenson,  on  account  of  its  greater  cheapness  and  lightness. 
Sir  H.  Davy  himself  acknowledges  that  the  merit  of  his  lamp 
rested  entirely  on  the  discovery  of  the  principle  referred  to, 
which  had  previously  been  ascertained  and  verified  by  the 
repeated  experiments  of  Mr.  Stephenson. 

However  great  the  merits  of  Mr.  Stephenson  in  connection 
with  the  invention  of  the  tube  safety  lamp,  they  cannot  be  re- 
garded as  detracting  from  the  distinguished  reputation  of  Sir 
Humphry  Davy.  His  inquiries  into  the  explosive  properties  of 
carburetted  hydrogen  gas  were  thoroughly  original ;  and  his  dis- 
covery of  the  fact  that  explosion  will  not  pass  through  tubes  of  a 
certain  diameter,  was  doubtless  made  independently  of  aU  that 
Stephenson  had  done  in  verification  of  the  same  fact.  It  even 
appears  that  Mr.  Smithson  Tennant  and  Dr.  Wollaston  had 
observed  the  same  fact  several  years  before,*  though  neither 
Stephenson  nor  Davy  knew  it  while  they  were  prosecuting  their 
experiments.  Sir  Humphry  Davy's  subsequent  modification  of 
the  tube  lamp,  by  which,  while  diminishing  the  diameter,  he  in 
the  same  ratio  shortened  the  tubes  without  danger,  and  in  the 
form  of  wire-gauze  enveloped  the  safety  lamp  by  a  multiplicity 
of  tubes,  was  a  beautiful  application  of  the  tiTie  theory  which  he 
had  formed  upon  the  subject.  "The  whole  theory  and  operation 
of  the  safety  lamp,"  says  Davy's  biographer,  f  is  nothing  more 
than  an  apparatus  by  which  the  inflammable  air,  upon  exploding 
in  its  interior,  cannot  pass  out  without  being  so  far  cooled,  as  to 

*  Paris'3  Life  of  Davy.  4to  ed.,  p.  316,  and  note  to  Davy's  Paper  read  before  the  Koyal 
Society,  November  9th,  1815. 

t  Paris'3  Life  of  Davy,  4to  ed.,  p.  317. 


124  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON". 

deprive  it  of  the  power  of  communicating  inflammation  to  the 
surrounding  atmosphere.  The  principle  having  been  once  dis- 
covered, it  was  easy  to  adopt  and  muhiply  practical  applications 
of  it.  From  the  result  of  these  researches  it  became  evident, 
that  to  light  mines  infested  with  fire-damp,  with  perfect  security, 
it  was  only  necessary  to  use  an  air-tight  lanthorn,  supplied  with 
air  from  tubes  of  small  diameter,  through  which  explosions  can- 
not pass,  and  with  a  chimney  on  a  similar  principle  at  the  upper 
part  to  carry  off  the  foul  air.  A  common  lanthorn,  to  be  adapted 
to  the  purpose,  merely  required  to  be  made  air-tight  in  the  door 
and  sides,  and  to  be  furnished  with  a  chimney,  and  the  system  of 
safety  apertures  below  and  above  the  flame  of  the  lamp.  Such, 
in  fact,  was  DaA'y's  first  safety  lamp ;  and  having  afterwards 
varied  the  arrangements  of  the  tubes  in  different  ways,  he  at 
length  exchanged  them  for  canals,  which  consisted  of  close  con- 
centric hollow  metallic  cylinders  of  different  diameters,  so  placed 
together  as  to  form  circular  canals  of  the  diameter  of  from  one 
twenty-fifth  to  one  fortieth  of  an  inch,  and  of  an  inch  and  seven 
tenths  in  length."  Carrying  out  the  same  principle,  the  idea 
occurred  to  him  of  constructmg  the  lamp  entirely  of  wire-gauze, 
with  apertures  of  from  one  fortieth  to  one  sixtieth  of  an  inch  in 
diameter.  A  lamp  so  constructed  was  exhibited  in  January, 
1816,  and  shortly  after  came  into  general  use. 

The  increased  number  of  accidents  which  have  occurred  from 
explosions  in  coal  mines*  since  the  general  introduction  of  the 
Davy  lamp,  have  led  to  considerable  doubts  as  to  its  safety,  and 
to  inquiries  as  to  the  means  by  which  it  may  be  further  improved; 
for  experience  has  shown  that,  under  certain  circumstances,  t)ie 
Davy  lamp  is  not  safe.     Mr.  Stephenson  was  of  opinion  that  the 

*  In  the  eighteen  years  preyious  to  the  Introduction  of  the  lamp,  447  persons  lost  their 
lives  in  the  counties  of  Durham  and  Northumberland,  whilst  in  the  eighteen  jears  fol- 
lowing, the  fatal  accidents  amounted  to  538. — Report  on  Accidents  in  Mines,  1835,  p.  iv. 
The  Increase  in  the  niunher  of  fatal  accidents  was  no  doubt  in  a  great  measure  attributa- 
ble to  the  circumstance  that,  after  the  invention  of  the  safety  lamp,  the  working  was 
resumed  in  many  dangerous  mines,  which  had  formerly  been  abandoned. 


UXSAFENESS  OF  THE  TUBE  LAMP.         125 

modification  of  his  own  and  Sir  Humphry  Davy's  lamp,  combin- 
ing the  glass  cyhnder  with  the  wire-gauze,  was  the  most  secure 
lamp ;  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  Davy  and 
the  Geordy  lamps  alike  failed  to  jtand  the  severe  tests  to  which 
they  were  submitted  by  Dr.  Pereira,  when  examined  before  the 
Committee  on  Accidents  in  Mines.  Indeed,  Dr.  Pereira  did  not 
hesitate  to  say,  that  when  exposed  to  a  current  of  explosive  gas, 
the  Davy  lamp  is  "  decidedly  unsafe,"  and  that  the  experiments 
by  which  its  safety  had  been  "  demonstrated"  in  the  lecture-room, 
had  proved  entirely  "fallacious."*  The  Committee,  in  their 
report,  make  use  of  these  words  :  "Accidents  have  occurred  when 
his  (Sir  H.  Davy's)  lamp  was  in  general  and  careful  use ;  no  one 
survived  to  tell  the  tale  of  how  these  occurrences  took  place ; 
conjecture  supplied  the  want  of  positive  knowledge  most  unsatis- 
factorily;  but  incidents  are  recorded  which  prove  what  must 
follow  unreasonable  testing  of  the  lamp  ;  and  your  Committee  are 
constrained  to  believe  that  ignorance  and  a  false  reliance  upon 
its  merits,  in  cases  attended  with  unwarrantable  risks,  have  led 
to  disastrous  consequences." 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  under  circumstances  in  which  the 
wire-gauze  of  the  Davy  lamp  becomes  red  hot  from  the  high 
explosivencss  of  the  gas,  the  Geordy  lamp  is  extinguished ;  and 
we  cannot  but  think  that  this  fact  testifies  to  the  decidedly  supe- 
rior safety  of  the  Geordy.  An  accident  occurred  in  the  Oaks 
Colliery  Pit  at  Barnsley,  on  the  20th  of  August,  1857,  which 
strikingly  exemplified  the  respective  qualities  of  the  lamps.  A 
sudden  outburst  of  gas  took  place  from  the  floor  of  the  mine, 
along  a  distance  of  fifty  yards.  Fortunately,  the  men  working 
in  the  pit  at  the  time  were  all  supplied  with  safety  lamps  —  the 
hewers  with  Stephenson's,  and  the  hurriers  with  Davy's.  Upon 
this  occasion,  the  whole  of  the  Stephenson  lamps,  over  a  space  of 
five  hundred  yards,  were  extinguished  almost  instantaneously ; 
whereas   the   Davy  lamps  were  filled  with  fire,  and  became  red 

*  Report  on  Accidents  in  Mines,  p.  29(1.    Evidence  of  Dr.  Pereira,  F.L.S. 


126  LIFE  OP  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

hot  —  SO  much  so,  that  several  of  the  men  using  them  had  their 
hands  burnt  by  the  gauze.  Had  a  strong  current  of  air  been 
blowing  through  the  gallery  at  the  time,  an  explosion  might  thus 
have  taken  place — an  accident  which,  it  will  be  observed,  could 
not  occur  from  the  use  of  the  Geordy,  which  is  at  once  extin- 
guished so  soon  as  the  air  becomes  explosive. 

The  merits  of  Dr.  Clanny  of  Sunderland,  in  connection  with 
the  invention  of  his  lamp,  were  considerable ;  yet  a  long  period 
elapsed  before  they  were  publicly  recognized.  Li  1846,  however, 
a  subscription  was  set  on  foot  by  his  friends  for  the  purpose  of 
presenting  him  with  a  testimonial,  and  JMi*.  Stephenson  Avas  found 
amongst  the  list  of  subscribers.  On  sending  in  his  contribution, 
he  said,  "  I  believe  Dr.  Clanny  was  the  first  person  who  made 
the  attempt  to  construct  a  lamp  wliich  should  burn  in  an  inflam- 
mable atmosphere  without  exploding.  Such  a  lamp  was  made 
by  Dr.  Clanny,  although  it  was  not  proved  practicable  to  manage 
in  coal  mines.  Nevertheless,  I  think  great  merit  is  due  to  liim 
for  what  he  did,  and  you  may  therefore  put  my  name  down  for 
five  pounds  towai'ds  his  testimoniah" 


CHAPTER    XII. 

FURTHER  BIPROVEMENTS  IN  THE  LOCOMOTIVE. 

Mr.  Stephenson's  experiments  on  fire-damp,  and  liis  labors 
in  connection  witli  tlie  invention  of  the  safety  lamp,  occupied  but 
a  small  portion  of  his  time,  which  was  mainly  devoted  to  the 
engineering  business  of  the  colliery.  He  was  also  giving  daily 
attention  to  the  improvement  of  his  locomotive,  which  every  day's 
observation  and  experience  satisfied  him  was  still  far  from  being 
perfect. 

At  that  time,  railways  were  almost  exclusively  confined  to  the 
colliery  districts,  and  attracted  the  notice  of  few  persons  except 
those  immediately  connected  with  the  coal  trade.  Nor  were  the 
colliery  proprietors  generally  favorable  to  locomotive  traction. 
There  were  great  doubts  as  to  its  economy.  Mr.  Blackett's  en- 
gines at  Wylam  were  still  supposed  to  be  working  at  a  loss ;  the 
locomotives  tried  at  Coxlodge  and  Heaton,  proving  failures,  had 
been  abandoned ;  and  the  colliery  owners,  seeing  the  various 
locomotive  speculations  prove  abortive,  ceased  to  encourage  fur- 
ther experiments. 

Stephenson  alone  remained  in  the  field  after  all  the  other  im- 
provers and  inventors  of  the  locomotive  had  abandoned  it  in 
despair.  He  continued  to  entertain  confident  expectations  of  its 
eventual  success.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  it  would 
yet  supersede  every  other  tractive  power.  Many  looked  upon 
him  as  an  enthusiast,  which  no  doubt  he  was,  but  upon  sufficient 

(127) 


128  LIFE   OF   GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

gi'ounds.  As  for  his  traveling  engine,  it  was  by  most  persons 
regarded  as  a  curious  toy ;  and  many,  shaking  their  heads,  pre- 
dicted for  it  "  a  terrible  blow  up  some  day."  Nevertheless,  it 
was  daily  performing  its  work  with  regularity,  dragging  the  coal 
wagons  between  the  colliery  and  the  staiths,  and  saving  the  labor 
of  many  men  and  horses.  There  was  not,  however,  so  marked 
a  saving  in  the  expense  of  working,  when  compai-ed  with  the 
cost  of  horse  traction,  as  to  induce  the  northern  coUiery  masters 
to  adopt  it  as  a  substitute  for  horses.  How  it  could  be  improved 
and  rendered  more  efficient  as  well  as  economical,  was  never  out 
of  Mr.  Stephenson's  mind.  He  was  quite  conscious  of  the  im- 
perfections both  of  the  road  and  of  the  engine ;  and  he  gave 
himself  no  rest  until  he  had  brought  the  efficiency  of  both  up  to 
a  higher  point.  He  worked  his  way  step  by  step,  slowly  but 
surely ;  every  step  was  in  advance  of  the  one  preceding,  and  thus 
inch  by  inch  was  gained  and  made  good  as  a  basis  for  further 
improvements. 

At  an  eai'ly  period  of  his  labors,  or  about  the  time  when  he 
had  completed  his  second  locomotive,  he  began  to  direct  his  par- 
ticular attention  to  the  state  of  the  road ;  as  he  perceived  that 
the  extended  use  of  the  locomotive  must  necessarily  depend  in 
a  gi'eat  measure  upon  the  perfection,  solidity,  continuity,  and 
smoothness  of  the  way  along  which  the  engine  traveled.  Even 
at  that  early  period,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  regarding  the  road 
and  the  locomotive  as  one  machine,  speaking  of  the  rail  and  the 
wheel  as  "  man  and  wife." 

All  railways  were  at  that  time  laid  in  a  careless  and  loose 
manner,  and  great  inequahties  of  level  were  allowed  to  occur 
without  much  attention  being  paid  to  repairs  ;  the  result  was  that 
great  loss  of  power  was  caused,  and  also  great  Avear  and  tear  of 
machinery,  by  the  frequent  jolts  and  blows  of  the  wheels  against 
the  rails.  His  first  object,  therefore,  was  to  remove  the  inequah- 
ties produced  by  tlie  imjierfect  junction  between  rail  and  rail. 
At  that  time  (181 G)  the  rails  were  made  of  cast  iron,  each  rail 


IMPROVEMENT    OF    TUE    RAILROAD.  129 

being  about  three  feet  long ;  and  sufficient  care  was  not  taken  to 
maintain  the  points  of  junction  on  the  same  level.  The  chairs, 
or  cast  iron  pedestals  into  which  the  rails  were  inserted,  wei-e  flat 
at  the  bottom ;  so  that,  whenever  any  disturbance  took  place  in 
the  stone  blocks  or  sleepers  supporting  them,  the  flat  base  of  the 
chair  upon  which  the  rails  rested,  being  tilted  by  unequal  subsi- 
dence, the  end  of  one  rail  became  depressed,  whilst  that  of  the 
other  was  elevated.  Hence  constant  jolts  and  shocks,  the  reaction 
of  which  very  often  caused  the  fracture  of  the  rails,  and  occasion- 
ally threw  the  engine  off"  the  road. 

To  remedy  this  imperfection,  Mr.  Stephenson  devised  a  new 
chair,  Avith  an  entirely  new  mode  of  fixing  the  rails  therein. 
Instead  of  ado^Dting  the  hutt  joint,  which  had  hitherto  been  used 
in  all  cast  iron  rails,  he  adopted  the  half-lap  joint,  by  which 
means  the  rails  extended  a  certain  distance  over  each  other  at 
the  ends,  somewhat  like  a  scarf  joint.  These  ends,  instead  of 
resting  upon  the  flat  chair,  were  made  to  rest  upon  the  apex  of 
a  curve  forming  the  bottom  of  the  chair.  The  supports  were 
extended  from  three  feet  to  three  feet  nine  inches  or  four  feet 
apart.  These  rails  were  accordingly  substituted  for  the  old  cast 
iron  plates  on  the  Killingworth  Colliery  Railway,  and  they  were 
found  to  be  a  very  great  improvement  upon  the  previous  system, 
adding  both  to  the  efficiency  of  the  horse  power  (still  used  on  the 
railway)  and  to  the  smooth  action  of  the  locomotive  engine,  but 
more  particularly  increasing  the  efficiency  of  the  latter. 

This  impi-oved  form  of  the  rail  and  chair  was  embodied  in  a 
patent  taken  out  in  the  joint  names  of  Mr.  Losh,  of  Newcastle, 
iron-founder,  and  of  Mr.  Stephenson,  bearing  date  the  30th  of 
September,  181 C*      IVIr.   Losh   being   a  wealthy,  enterprising 

*  A  grant  unto  William  Losh,  of  the  town  and  county  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  iron- 
founder,  and  George  Stephenson,  of  Killing'.vorth,  in  the  county  of  Northumlterland, 
engineer,  for  their  invented  new  method  or  new  methods  of  facilitating  the  conToyancu 
oJ-carriages,  and  all  manner  of  goods  and  materials  along  railways  and  tram-ways,  by 
certain  inventions  and  improvements  in  the  construction  of  the  machine,  carriages,  car- 

0 


130  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

iron-manufacturer,  and  having  confidence  in  George  Stephenson 
and  his  improvements,  found  the  money  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
out  the  patent,  -which,  in  those  days,  was  a  very  costly  as  well  as 
troublesome  affair. 

The  specification  of  the  same  patent  also  described  various  im- 
portant improvements  on  all  locomotives  previously  constructed. 
The  wheels  of  the  engine  were  improved,  being  altered  from  cast 
to  malleable  iron,  in  Avhole  or  in  part,  by  which  they  were  made 
lighter  as  well  as  more  durable  and  safe.  Thus  the  road  was 
rendered  smoother,  and  the  wheels  of  the  locomotive  were  made 
stronger.  But  the  most  ingenious  and  original  contrivance  em- 
bodied in  this  patent  was  the  substitute  for  springs,  which  was 
devised  by  Mr.  Stephenson.  He  contrived  an  arrangement  by 
which  the  steam  generated  in  the  boiler  was  made  to  perform 
this  important  office !  The  means  by  which  this  was  effected 
were  so  strikingly  characteristic  of  true  mechanical  genius,  that 
we  would  particularly  call  the  reader's  attention  to  this  ingenious 
device,  which  was  the  more  remarkable,  as  it  was  contrived  long 
before  the  possibility  of  steam  locomotion  had  become  an  object 
of  parliamentary  inquiry,  or  even  of  public  interest. 

It  has  already  been  observed  that  up  to,  and  indeed  for  some 
time  after,  the  period  of  which  we  speak,  there  was  no  such  class 
of  skilled  mechanics,  nor  were  there  any  such  machinery  and 
tools  in  use  as  are  now  at  the  disposal  of  inventors  and  manufac- 
turers. The  same  difficulty  had  been  experienced  by  Watt 
many  years  before,  in  the  course  of  his  improvements  in  the 
steam-engine ;  and  on  the  occasion  of  the  construction  of  his  first 
condensing  engine  at  Soho,  Mr.  Smeaton,  although  satisfied  of  its 
great  superiority  over  Newcomen's,  expressed  strong  doubts  as 
to  the  practicability  of  getting  the  different  parts  executed  with 
the  requisite  pi'ecision ;  and  he  consequently  argued  that,  in  its 
improved  form,  this  powerful  machine  would  never  be  generally 

riage  wheels,  railways,  and  tram-ways  employed  for  that  purpose. — 30th  Sept.  1816, 
Patent  Eecord  Oface,  No.  4067. 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  LOCOMOTIYE.        131 

introduced.  Such  was  the  low  state  of  the  mechanical  arts  in 
those  days.  Altliough  skilled  workmen  were  in  course  of  grad- 
ual training  in  a  few  of  the  larger  manufacturing  towns,  they 
did  not,  at  the  date  of  Stephenson's  patent,  exist  in  any  consider- 
able numbers,  nor  was  there  then  any  class  of  mechanics  capable 
of  constructing  springs  of  sufficient  strength  and  elasticity  to  sup- 
port a  locomotive  engine  ten  tons  in  weight. 

The  rails  then  used  being  extremely  light,  the  road  soon  be- 
came worn  down  by  the  traffic,  and,  from  the  inequalities  of  the 
way,  the  whole  weight  of  the  engine,  instead  of  being  uniformly 
distributed  over  the  four  wheels,  was  occasionally  thrown  almost 
diagonally  upon  two.  Hence  frequent  jerks  of  the  locomotive, 
and  increased  stress  upon  the  slender  road,  which  occasioned 
numerous  breakages  of  the  rails  and  chairs,  and  consequent  in- 
terruptions to  the  safe  working  of  the  railway. 

In  order  to  avoid  the  dangers  arising  from  this  cause,  Mr. 
Stephenson  contrived  his  steam  springs.  He  so  arranged  the 
boiler  of  his  new  patent  locomotive  that  it  was  supported  upon 
the  frame  of  the  engine  by  four  cylinders,  which  opened  into  the 
interior  of  the  boiler.  These  cylinders  were  occupied  by  pistons 
with  rods,  which  passed  downwards  and  pressed  upon  the  upper 
side  of  the  axles.  The  cylinders  opening  into  the  mterior  of  the 
boiler,  allowed  the  pressure  of  steam  to  be  applied  to  the  upper 
side  of  the  piston ;  and  that  pressure  being  nearly  equivalent  to 
one  fourth  of  the  weight  of  the  engine,  each  axle,  whatever  might 
be  its  position,  had  at  all  times  nearly  the  same  amount  of  weight 
to  bear,  and  consequently  the  entire  weight  was  at  all  times 
pretty  equally  distributed  amongst  the  four  wheels  of  the  locomo- 
tive. Thus  the  four  floating  pistons  were  ingeniously  made  to 
serve  the  purpose  of  springs  in  equahzing  the  weight,  and  in 
softening  the  jerks  of  the  machine ;  the  weight  of  which,  it  must 
also  be  observed,  had  been  increased,  on  a  road  originally  calcu- 
lated to  bear  a  considerably  lighter  description  of  carriage.  This 
mode  of  supporting  the  engine  remained  in  use  until  the  progress 


132  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

of  spring-making  had  so  far  advanced  that  steel  springs  could  be 
manufactured  of  sufficient  strength  to  be  used  in  locomotives. 

The  result  of  the  actual  working  of  George  Stephenson's  new 
locomotive  and  improved  road  amply  justified  the  promises  held 
forth  in  his  "specification."  The  traffic  was  conducted  with 
greater  regularity  and  economy,  and  the  superiority  of  the  loco- 
motive engine,  as  compared  with  horse  traction,  became  more 
apparent.  And  it  is  a  fact  worthy  of  notice,  that  the  identical 
engmes  constructed  by  'Mr.  Stephenson  in  1816,  are  to  this  day 
to  be  seen  in  regular  useful  work  upon  the  Killingworth  railway, 
conveying  heavy  coal  trains  at  the  speed  of  between  five  and  six 
miles  an  hour,  probably  as  economically  as  any  of  the  more  per- 
fect locomotives  now  in  use. 

Mr.  Stephenson's  endeavors  having  been  attended  with  such 
marked  success  in  the  adaptation  of  locomotive  power  to  rail- 
ways, his  attention  was  called  by  many  of  his  friends,  about  the 
year  1818,  to  the  application  of  steam  to  traveling  on  common 
roads.  It  was  from  this  point,  indeed,  that  the  locomotive  had 
been  started,  Trevethick's  first  engine  havuig  been  constructed 
with  this  special  object.  Stephenson's  friends  having  observed 
how  fai-  belund  he  had  left  the  original  projector  of  the  locomo- 
tive in  its  application  to  railroads,  perhaps  naturally  inferred 
that  he  would  be  equally  successful  m  applying  it  to  the  purpose 
for  which  Trevetliick  and  Vivian  originally  mtended  it. 

But  the  accuracy  with  which  he  estimated  the  resistance  to 
wlxich  loads  were  exposed  on  railways,  arising  from  friction  and 
gravity,  led  him  at  a  very  early  stage  to  reject  the  idea  of  ever 
successfully  applymg  steam  power  to  common  road  travehng. 
In  October,  1818,  he  made  a  series  of  careful  experiments,  in 
conjunction  with  Mr.  Nicholas  Wood,  on  the  resistance  to  which 
can-iages  were  exposed  on  railways,  testing  the  resuhs  by  means 
of  a  dynamometer  of  his  own  construction.  His  readmess  at  all 
times  with  a  contrivance  to  enable  him  to  overcome  a  difficulty, 
and  his  fertility  in  expedients,  were  in  no  respect  more  strikingly 


INVENTION    OF    THE    DYNAMOMETER.  133 

displayed  than  in  the  invention  of  this  dynamometer.  Tliough 
it  was  found  efficient  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  contrived, 
it  will  not,  of  course,  bear  a  comparison  with  other  instruments 
for  a  similar  purpose  that  have  since  been  invented.  The  sei-ies 
of  practical  observations  made  by  means  of  this  instrument  were 
interesting,  as  the  first  systematic  attempt  to  determine  the  pre- 
cise amount  of  resistance  to  carriages  moving  along  railways.* 
It  was  thus  for  the  first  time  ascertained  by  experiment  that  the 
friction  was  a  constant  quantity  at  all  velocities.  Although  this 
theory  had  long  before  been  developed  by  Vince  and  Coulomb, 
and  was  well  known  to  scientific  men  as  an  established  truth,  yet 
at  the  time  when  Mr.  Stephenson  made  his  experiments,  the  de- 
ductions of  philosophers  on  the  subject  were  neither  believed  in 
nor  acted  upon  by  practical  engineers.  And  notwithstanding 
that  the  carefully  conducted  experiments  in  question  went  di- 
rectly to  corroborate  the  philosophical  theories  on  the  subject,  it 
was  a  considerable  time  (so  great  were  the  prejudices  then  exist- 
ing) before  the  conclusions  which  they  established  received  the 
sanction  of  practical  men. 

It  was  maintained  by  many  that  the  results  of  these  experi- 
ments led  to  the  greatest  possible  mechanical  absurdities.  For 
example,  it  was  insisted  that,  if  friction  was  constant  at  all  velo- 
cities upon  a  level  railway,  Avhen  once  a  power  was  applied  to  a 
carriage,  which  exceeded  the  friction  of  that  carriage  by  the 
smallest  possible  amount,  such  excess  of  power,  however  small, 
would  be  able  to  convey  the  carriage  along  a  level  railway  at  all 
conceivable  velocities.  When  this  position  was  taken  by  those 
who  opposed  the  conclusions  to  which  Mr.  Stephenson  had  ar- 
rived, he  felt  the  greatest  hesitation  in  maintaining  his  own 
views ;  for  it  appeared  to  him  at  first  sight  really  the  absurdity 
which  his  opponents  asserted  it  to  be.     Frequent  and  careful 

*  The  erporiments  are  set  forth  in  detail  in  "  A  Practical  Treatise  on  Railroads  and  In- 
terior Communication  in  General."  By  Nicholas  Wood,  Colliery  Viewer,  C.  E.  London : 
Hurst,  Chance  &  Co.,  cd.  1831,  pp.  197-253. 


134:  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

repetition  of  liis  experiments,  however,  left  no  doubt  upon  his 
mind  as  to  the  soundness  of  his  conchisions — that  friction  was 
uniform  at  all  velocities.  Notwithstanding  the  ridicule  that  was 
thrown  upon  his  views  by  many  persons  with  whom  he  associated 
at  the  time,  he  continued  to  hold  to  this  conclusion  as  a  fact  posi- 
tively established ;  and  he  soon  afterAvards  boldly  maintained, 
that  that  which  was  an  apparent  absurdity  was  indeed  an  inev- 
itable consequence,  and  that  every  increase  of-  speed  involved  a 
necessary  expenditure  of  power  almost  in  a  direct  ratio. 

It  is  unnecessary  at  this  time  of  day  to  point  out  how  obvious 
this  consequence  is,  and  how  it  is  limited  and  controlled  by 
various  circumstances ;  nevertheless  it  is  undoubted,  that  could 
you  always  be  applying  a  power  proportionately  in  excess  of  the 
resistance,  a  constant  increase  of  velocity  would  follow  without 
any  limit.  This  is  so  obvious  to  professional  men  now,  and  is 
indeed  so  axiomatic,  that  it  is  unnecessary  further  to  illustrate 
the  position ;  and  the  discussions  which  took  place  on  the  sub- 
ject, when  the  results  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  experiments  were 
announced,  are  only  here  alluded  to  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
the  difficulties  he  had  to  contend  with  and  overcome  at  the  time, 
and  how  small  was  the  amount  of  science  then  blended  with 
engineering  practice.* 

The  other  resistances  to  which  carriages  are  exposed,  were  at 
the  same  time  investigated  by  Mr.  Stephenson.  -He  perceived 
that  these  resistances  were  mainly  three :  the  first  being  upon 
the  axles  of  the  carriage,  the  second  (which  may  be  called  the 
rolling  resistance)  being  between  the  cu'cumference  of  the  wheel 
and  the  sui-face  of  the  rail,  and  the  third  being  the  resistance  of 
gravity.  The  amount  of  friction  and  gravity  was  accurately 
ascertained ;  but  the  rolling  resistance  was  a  matter  of  greater 
difficulty,  being  subject  to  great  variation.     He  however  satisfied 

*  Some  years  afterwards,  Mr.  Sylvester,  of  Liverpool,  published  an  able  pamphlet  on 
this  subject,  in  which  he  demonstrated,  in  a  very  simple  and  beautiful  manner,  the  cor- 
rectness of  Jlr.  Stephenson's  conclusions 


ROLLING   RESISTANCE.  135 

himself  that  it  was  so  great  when  the  surface  presented  to  the 
wheel  was  of  a  rough  chai-acter,  that  the  idea  of  working  steam 
carriages  upon  common  roads  was  dismissed  hj  him  as  entirely 
out  of  the  question.  Even  so  early  as  the  period  alluded  to 
(1818)  he  brought  his  theoretical  calculations  to  a  practical  test: 
he  scattered  sand  upon  the  rails  when  an  engine  was  running, 
and  found  that  a  small  quantity  was  quite  sufficient  to  retard  and 
even  to  stop  the  most  powerful  locomotive  that  he  had  at  that 
time  made.  And  he  never  failed  to  urge  this  conclusive  experi- 
ment upon  the  attention  of  those  who  were  at  that  time  wasting 
their  money  and  ingenuity  upon  the  vain  attempt  to  apply  steam 
power  to  the  purpose  of  traveling  on  common  roads. 

Having  ascertained  that  resistance  might  be  taken  as  repre- 
sented by  10  lbs.  to  a  ton  weight  on  a  level  railway,  it  became 
obvious  to  him  that  so  small  a  rise  as  1  in  100  would  diminish 
the  useful  effort  of  a  locomotive  by  upwards  of  50  per  cent. 
Tliis  was  demonstrated  by  repeated  experiments,  and  the  impor- 
tant fact,  thus  rooted  deeply  in  his  mind,  was  never  lost  sight  of 
in  the  course  of  his  future  railway  career.  It  was  owing  in  a 
great  measure  to  these  painstaking  experiments  that  he  thus 
early  became  convinced  of  the  vital  importance,  in  an  economical 
point  of  view,  of  reducing  the  country  through  which  a  railway 
was  intended  to  pass  as  nearly  as  possible  to  a  level.  Where,  as 
in  the  first  coal  railways  of  Northumberland  and  Durham,  the 
load  was  nearly  all  one  way — that  is,  from  the  colliery  to  the 
shipping-place  —  it  was  an  advantage  to  have  an  inclination  in 
that  direction.  The  strain  on  the  powers  of  the  locomotive  was 
thus  diminished,  and  it  was  an  easy  matter  for  it  to  haul  the 
empty  wagons  back  to  the  colliery  up  even  a  pretty  steep  incline. 
But  when  the  loads  were  both  ways,  it  appeared  obvious  to  him 
that  the  railroad  must  be  constructed  as  nearly  as  possible  on  a 
level.  The  strong  and  sagacious  mind  of  Stephenson  early 
recognized  this  broad  principle ;  and  he  had  so  carefully  worked 
out  the  important  facts  as  to  the  resistance  oflfered  by  adverse 


136  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

gradients,  that  he  never  swerved  from  it.  At  a  much  later 
period,  when  the  days  of  fast  engineering  had  arrived,  while 
many  thought  him  prejudiced  on  this  point,  he  himself  clung 
tenaciously  to  it,  and  invariably  insisted  upon  the  importance  of 
flat  gradients.  It  is  true,  great  and  important  additions  were 
made  to  the  powers  of  the  locomotive ;  but  no  sooner  were  these 
effected,  than  lines  of  steeper  and  still  steeper  gradients  were 
devised,  until,  as  he  used  to  declare,  engineers  were  constantly 
neutralizing  the  increased  powers  of  the  engine,  and  in  precisely 
the  same  degree  diminishing  the  comparative  advantages  of  rail- 
ways over  common  roads. 

These  views,  thus  early  entertained,  originated  in  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson's mind  the  peculiar  character  of  railroad  works  as  dis- 
tinguished from  all  other  roads ;  for,  in  railroads,  he  eai'ly 
contended  that  large  sums  would  be  wisely  expended  in  perfo- 
rating barriers  of  hills  with  long  tunnels,  and  in  raising  the  lower 
levels  with  the  excess  cut  down  from  the  adjacent  high  ground. 
In  proportion  as  these  views  forced  themselves  upon  his  mind, 
and  were  corroborated  by  his  daily  experience,  he  became  more 
and  more  convinced  of  the  hopelessness  of  applying  steam  loco- 
motion to  common  roads ;  for  every  argument  in  favor  of  a  level 
railway  was,  in  his  view,  an  argument  against  the  rough  and 
hilly  course  of  a  common  road.  Nor  did  he  cease  to  urge  upon 
the  numerous  patrons  of  road  steam  carriages,  that  if,  by  any 
amount  of  ingenuity,  an  engine  could  be  made,  which  could  by 
possibility  travel  on  a  turnpike  road  at  a  speed  equal  to  that  ob- 
tainable by  horse  power,  and  at  a  less  cost,  such  an  engine,  if 
applied  to  the  more  perfect  surface  of  a  railway,  would  have  its 
efficiency  enormously  enhanced. 

For  instance,  he  calculated  that,  if  an  engine  had  been  con- 
structed, and  had  been  found  to  travel  uniformly  between  Lon- 
don and  Birmingham  at  an  average  speed  of  10  miles  an  hour, 
conveying  say  20  or  30  passengers,  at  a  cost  of  Is.  per  mile,  it 
was  clear  that  the  same  engine,  if  applied  to  a  railway,  instead 


LOCOMOTION    ON    COMMON    ROADS.  137 

of  conveying  20  or  30  persons,  would  easily  convey  200  or  300 ; 
and,  instead  of  traveling  at  a  speed  of  10  or  12  miles  an  hour, 
a  speed  of  at  least  30  or  40  miles  an  hour  might  be  attained. 

All  this  seems  trite  and  common-place  enough,  now  that  the 
thing  has  been  done ;  but  it  was  not  so  in  those  days,  before  it 
had  been  attempted  or  even  thought  of,  excepting  by  one  man, 
whom  his  contemporaries  spoke  of  as  a  dreamer  and  enthusiast 
on  the  subject  of  railways.  Then,  the  so-called  "practical"  men 
were  bent  upon  a  really  impracticable  thing  —  the  economical 
application  of  steam  power  to  turnpike  roads  ;  while  the  "  enthu- 
siast" was  pursuing  the  only  safe  road  to  practical  success.  At 
this  day  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  the  sagacious  and  strong 
common-sense  views  of  Stephenson  on  this  subject,  failed  to  force 
themselves  sooner  upon  the  minds  of  those  who  were  persisting 
in  their  vain  though  ingenious  attempts  to  apply  locomotive 
power  to  ordinary  roads.  For  a  long  time  they  continued  to 
hold  with  obstinate  perseverance  to  the  belief  that,  for  steam 
purposes,  a  soft  road  was  better  than  a  hard  one  —  a  road  easily 
crushed  better  than  one  incapable  of  being  crushed ;  and  they 
held  to  this  after  it  had  been  demonstrated  in  all  parts  of  the 
mining  districts,  that  iron  tram-ways  were  better  than  paved 
roads.  But  the  fallacy  that  iron  was  incapable  of  adhesion  upon 
iron,  continued  to  prevail,  and  the  projectors  of  steam  traveling  on 
common  roads  only  shared  in  the  common  belief.  They  still 
considered  that  roughness  of  surface  was  essential  to  produce 
"  bite,"  especially  in  surmounting  acclivities  ;  the  truth  being,  that 
they  confounded  roughness  of  surface  with  tenacity  of  surface  and 
contact  of  parts ;  not  perceiving  that  a  yielding  surface  which 
would  adapt  itself  to  the  tread  of  the  wheel,  could  never  become 
an  unyielding  surface  to  form  a  fulcrum  for  its  progression.  It 
was  the  error  of  reasoning  from  one  circumstance,  instead  of 
taking  all  the  circumstances  into  account. 


CHAPTER    XIII, 


EDUCATION   OF  HIS  SON. 


Although  men  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  scope  and  fi'Mme  of  mind 
are  in  a  great  measure  independent  of  instruction,  none  under- 
stand better  than  they  do  the  advantages  of  scholastic  and  scien- 
tific training.  In  the  course  of  Ms  progress  in  life,  from  the 
position  of  an  humble  colliery  brakesman  to  that  of  chief  engineer 
of  an  extensive  colliery,  every  step  of  which  he  had  gallantly 
won  by  dint  of  constant  struggle  and  persistent  industry,  he  had 
felt  himself  almost  daily  hampered,  restrained,  and  placed  at  a 
disadvantage,  in  consequence  of  his  want  of  elementary  instruc- 
tion. 

Not  having  been  made  acquainted  with  what  others  before  him 
had  done,  he  had  often  groped  his  way,  as  it  were,  in  the  dark, 
in  pursuit  of  some  idea  originated  by  his  own  independent  think- 
ins:  and  observation ;  and  when  he  had  elaborated  his  views  and 
brought  them  into  a  definite  shape,  lo  !  he  very  often  found  that 
his  supposed  original  idea  was  an  old  one,  and  that  it  had  long 
been  recorded  in  scientific  woi'ks,  access  to  which  was  not  within 
his  reach.  "It  is  a  maxim,"  says  Mr.  Babbage,*  "equally  just 
in  all  arts,  and  in  every  science,  that  the  man  who  aspires  to  for- 
tune or  to  fame  by  new  discoveries,  must  be  content  to  examine 
with  care  the  knowledge  of  his  contemporaries,  or  to  exhaust  his 
efforts  in  inventing  what  he  will  most  probably  find  has  been 

*  On  "  Economy  in  Machinery  and  Manufactures." 
(138) 


EXHORTATIONS  TO  PERSEVERE.  139 

bettei'  executed  before."  No  man  was  more  keenly  conscious  of 
this  truth  than  George  Stephenson ;  and  he  often  took  occasion 
to  give  expression  to  it  in  his  homely  and  forcible  way,  when 
addressing  workmen  at  the  meetings  of  Mechanics'  Institutes, 
wliich  he  took  pleasure  in  attending  during  the  later  years  of  his 
life. 

But  these  very  efforts,  fruitless  though  they  were,  and  leading 
to  no  apparent  beneficial  results — as  in  the  case  of  his  long-con- 
tinued labors  in  attempting  to  invent  perpetual  motion — yet 
having  originated  in  his  ardent  thirst  for  practical  knowledge, 
really  proved  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  him.  The  very  grap- 
pHng  with  difficulty  was  an  education  of  itself,  and  tended  to 
develop  his  independent  powers  of  thinking  and  action,  which  is 
indeed  the  highest  object  of  intellectual  discipline.  Had  he  been 
early  provided  with  those  appliances  which  are  considered  re- 
quisite for  the  successful  prosecution  of  mechanical  and  scientific 
study,  it  is  possible  that  he  might  not  have  acquired  that  readi- 
ness in  suggesting  expedients,  and  contriving  apparatus  for  the 
mastery  of  difficulties,  which  so  strikingly  distinguished  him 
throughout  his  career.  Indeed,  in  his  case,  as  in  that  of  so  many 
other  self-taught  men,  the  old  proverb  proved  true,  that  Neces- 
sity is  the  mother  of  Invention. 

Over-much  dependence  upon  others'  teaching  is  somewhat  to 
be  guarded  against ;  and  it  is  well,  even  under  the  most  thorough 
culture,  that  there  should  be  occasional  gaps  left  for  the  mind's 
independent  operation.  Stephenson's  mind  was  indeed  too  full 
of  gaps  at  starting ;  and  all  the  knowledge  with  which  he  filled 
them  up  was  of  his  own  acquiring.  Thrown  from  the  first  upon 
his  own  resources,  he  early  acquired  that  habit  of  self-reliance 
which  formed  the  backbone  of  his  character.  His  strength  of 
purpose,  energetic  will,  untiring  industry,  and  vigorous  common 
sense  did  the  rest.  He  may  be  said  to  have  learnt  his  practical 
science  first,  and  acquired  his  education  afterwards  ;  and  although 
he  was  a  late  learner,  he  nevertheless  lived  long  enough  to  carve 


140  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

his  name  deep  on  the  world's  records,  and  to  leave  works  in 
wLich  future  ages  will  trace  the  hand  of  a  giant. 

Whatever  Stephenson  learnt,   having  been  acquired  by  his 
own  laborious  efforts,  was  regarded   by  him  in  tlie  light  of  an 
actual  property.     There  were  many  highly  educated  engineers 
living  in  his  day,  who  knew  vastly  more  than  he  did — trained 
as  they  had  been  in  all  the  science  and  learning  of  the  schools ; 
but  there  were  none  so  apt  in  applying  what  they  knew  to  prac- 
tical purposes  as  the  Killingworth  "brakesman"  and  "engine- 
wright."     The  great  secret  of  his   success,   however,  was   his 
cheerful  perseverance.     He  was  never  cast  down  by  obstacles, 
but  seemed  to  take  a  pleasure  in  grappling  with  them,  and  he 
always  rose  from  each  encounter  a  stronger  as  well  as  a  wiser 
man.     He  knew  nothing  of  those  sickly  phantasies  which  men, 
who  suppose  themselves  to  be  "geniuses,"  are  so  apt  to  indulge 
in ;  nor  did  his  poverty  or  necessities  ever  impair  the  elasticity 
of  his  character.     When  he  failed  in  one  attempt,  he  tried  again, 
and  again,  until  eventually  he  succeeded. 

The  author  well  remembers  hearing  Mr.  Stephenson  deliver 
an  address  to  the  young  men  composing  a  Mechanics'  Institute,* 
at  whose  soirees  he  was  a  frequent  and  favorite  guest,  on  the 
subject  of  his  early  struggles,  and  the  means  by  which  he  had 
achieved  his  success  in  hfe.  "He  blushed,"  he  said,  "to  follow 
more  brilliant  speakers,"  (Dr.  Buckland  and  others  had  preceded 
him,)  "for  he  stood  amongst  them  there  but  as  an  humble  me- 
chanic. He  had  commenced  his  career  on  a  lower  level  than  any 
man  present  there.  He  made  that  remark  for  the  purpose  of 
encouraging  young  mechanics  to  do  as  he  had  done — to  perse- 
vere. And  he  would  tell  them  that  the  humblest  amongst  them 
occupied  a  much  more  advantageous  position  than  he  had  done 
on  commencing  his  life  of  labor.  They  had  teachers  who,  going 
before  them,  had  left  their  great  discoveries  as  a  legacy  and  a 
guide ;  and  their  works  were  now  accessible  to  all,  in  such  insti- 

*  Soiree  of  the  Leeds  Mechanics'  Institute,  1st  December,  1847. 


EXHORTATIONS    TO    PERSEVERE.  141 

tut  ions  as  that  which  he  addressed.  But  he  remembered  the 
time  when  there  was  none  thus  to  guide  and  instruct  the  j'oung 
mechanic.  With  a  free  access  to  scientific  books,  he  knew,  from 
his  own  experience,  that  they  could  be  saved  much  unnecessary 
toil  and  expenditure  of  mental  capital.  Many  ingenious  young 
mechanics,  if  they  failed  to  profit  by  the  teaching  of  those  who 
had  preceded  them,  might  often  be  induced  to  believe  that  they 
had  hit  upon  some  discovery  in  mechanics ;  and  when  they  had 
gone  on  spending  both  time  and  money,  they  would  only  arrive 
at  the  unpleasant  discovery  that  what  they  had  cherished  as  an 
original  invention  had  been  known  many  years  before,  and  was 
to  be  found  recorded  in  scientific  works." 

On  another  similar  occasion,  speaking  before  the  same  audi- 
ence,* he  observed,  that  "all  his  life  through  he  had  felt  very 
severely  the  want  of  education.  He  had  set  out  in  life  without 
much  learning — nay,  he  might  almost  say,  without  any  at  all. 
Now,  without  education  of  some  sort,  it  was  scarcely  possible  for 
a  man  to  succeed  in  any  undertaking.  But  with  a  sound  and 
comprehensive  education,  many  an  humble  mechanic  might  at- 
tain to  the  rank  of  civil  engineer.  Perseverance  was  one  of 
the  principal  qualifications  requisite  on  the  part  of  any  young 
man  who  entered  that  profession.  The  civil  engineer  had  many 
difl[iculties  to  contend  with ;  but  if  a  man  wished  to  rise  to  the 
higher  grades  of  that,  or  indeed  any  other  profession,  he  must 
never  see  any  difficulties  before  him.  Obstacles  might  appear 
to  be  difficulties ;  but  the  engineer  must  be  prepared  to  throw 
them  overboard,  or  to  conquer  them.  This  was  the  course 
which  he  had  himself  pursued." 

These  characteristic  sentiments  illustrate  the  man,  and  show 
the  fibre  of  which  he  was  made.  His  views  respecting  the  im- 
portance of  education  were  in  him  firmly-rooted  convictions  ;  and 
when  he  had  an  opportunity  of  speaking  to  young  men,  he  never 

*  Soiree  of  the  Leeds  Mechanica'  Institute,  lOtli  September,  1842 ;  Mr.  Charles  Dickens 
in  the  chair. 


142  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

failed  to  urge  them.  Since  the  time  when,  tending  the  engine  at 
the  West  Moor  Pit  during  the  night  shifts,  he  had  employed  his 
spare  minutes  in  cleaning  the  pitmen's  clocks  and  mending  their 
shoes,  that  he  might  save  enough  money  to  send  his  boy  to 
school,  experience  had  only  served  to  strengthen  and  coniii-m 
them. 

Mr.  Stephenson  accordingly  steadily  carried  out  these  views 
in  the  education  of  his  son  Robert.  For  about  three  years  the 
youth  attended  Bruce's  school,  at  Newcastle,  one  of  the  best 
seminaries  of  the  district,  where  he  acquired  the  rudiments  of  a 
sound  education.  It  was  expensive;  but  the  father  did  not 
grudge  it,  for  he  held  that  the  best  legacy  he  could  leave  his  son 
was  a  well-nurtured  mind.  He  encouraged  him  to  read  and 
study  for  himself;  and  he  made  him,  as  we  have  seen,  in  a 
measure  the  instrument  of  his  own  better  education,  by  getting 
the  youth  to  read  for  him  at  the  library  in  Newcastle,  and  bring 
home  the  results  of  his  weekly  readings,  and  often  a  scientific 
book,  which  father  and  son  studied  togethei*.  Many  were  the 
discussions  in  which  the  two  engaged  on  subjects  more  immedi- 
ately bearing  upon  the  business  of  the  colliery,  such  as  the  steam- 
engine,  pumping-engine,  and,  above  all,  the  favorite  subject  of 
the  locomotive. 

On  one  occasion,  they  determined  to  construct  a  sun-dial  for 
the  front  of  the  cottage  at  West  Moor.  Robert  brought  home 
Ferguson's  "Astronomy,"  and,  under  his  father's  directions,  he 
carefully  drew  out  on  paper  a  dial  suited  to  the  latitude  of  Kil- 
hngworth ;  then  a  suitable  stone  was  procured,  and,  after  much 
hewing  and  polishing,  the  stone  dial  was  at  length  completed, 
and  fixed  immediately  over  the  cottage  door,  greatly  to  the  won- 
derment of  the  villagers.  It  stands  there  yet ;  and  we  t)-ust  it 
will  be  long  before  it  is  removed.  The  date  cai'ved  upon  it  is 
"August  11th,  MDCCCXvi" — a  year  or  two  before  Robert  left 
school.  George  Stephenson  was  very  proud  of  that  sun-dial,  for 
it  had  cost  him  much  thought  and  labor ;  and,  in  its  way,  it  was 


APPRENTICESHIP    OP    HIS    SON.  143 

a  success.  Many  years  after,  in  1838  when  the  British  Associa- 
tion met  at  Newcastle,  he  took  over  some  of  his  scientific  friends 
to  Killingworth,  and  pointed  out  his  sun-dial  with  honest  exulta- 
tion, as  also  the  otlier  parts  of  the  cottage  which  had  been  his 
own  handiwork.  And  afterwards,  in  1843,  when  engaged  with 
Mr.  John  Bourne,  engineer,  in  making  the  prehminary  survey  of 
the  Newcastle  and  Berwick  Railway,  he  drove  him  round  by  the 
cottage  in  order  to  point  out  the  sun-dial,  and  relate  to  him  how 
and  when  he  had  made  it. 

On  leaving  school,  in  1818,  Robert  Stephenson  was  put  ap- 
prentice to  Mr.  Nicholas  "Wood,  at  Killingworth,  to  learn  the 
business  of  the  colliery ;  and  he  served  under  him  for  three 
years  in  the  capacity  of  an  under  viewer  in  the  West  Moor  Pit. 
He  thus  became  familiar  with  aU  departments  of  underground 
work.  The  occupation  was  not  unattended  with  peril,  as  the  fol- 
lowing incident  will  show.  Though  the  Geordy  lamp  was  now 
in  general  use  in  the  Killingworth  pits,  and  the  workmen  were 
bound,  under  a  penalty  of  half-a-crown,  not  to  use  a  naked 
candle,  yet  it  was  difficult  to  enforce  the  rule,  and  even  the 
masters  themselves  occasionally  broke  it.  One  day  Mr.  Nicholas 
Wood,  the  head  viewer,  accompanied  by  Robert  Stephenson  and 
]Moodie,  the  under  viewers,  was  proceeding  along  one  of  the  gal- 
leries. Wood  with  a  naked  candle  in  his  hand,  and  Robert  fol- 
lowing him  with  a  lamp.  They  came  to  a  place  where  a  fall  of 
stones  from  the  roof  had  taken  place,  and  Nicholas  Wood,  who 
was  first,  proceeded  to  clamber  over  the  stones,  holding  high  the 
naked  candle.  He  had  reached  nearly  the  summit  of  the  heap, 
when  the  fire-damp,  which  had  accumulated  in  the  hollow  of  the 
roof,  exploded,  and  instantly  the  whole  pai'ty  were  blown  down, 
and  the  lights  extinguished.  They  were  a  mile  from  the  shaft, 
and  quite  in  the  dark.  There  was  a  rush  of  the  work-people 
from  all  quarters  towards  the  shaft,  for  it  was  feared  that  the 
fire  might  extend  to  more  dangerous  pai'ts  of  the  pit,  where,  if 
the  gas  had  exploded,  every  soul  in  the  mine  must  inevitably 


144  LIFE  OF    GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

have  perished.  Robert  Stephenson  and  Moodie,  on  the  first  im 
pulse,  ran  back  at  full  speed  along  the  dark  gallery  leading  to 
the  shaft,  coming  in  collision,  on  their  way,  with  the  hind 
quarters  of  a  horse  stunned  by  the  explosion.  When  they  had 
gone  halfway,  Moodie  halted,  and  bethought  him  of  Nicholas 
Wood.  "Stop,  laddie!"  said  he  to  Robert,  "  stop ;  we  maun 
gang  back,  and  seek  the  maister."  So  they  retraced  their  steps. 
Happily  no  further  explosion  had  taken  place.  They  found  the 
master  lying  on  the  heap  of  stones,  stunned  and  bruised,  with  his 
hands  severely  burnt.  They  led  liim  back  out  of  the  pit ;  and 
he  afterwards  took  care  never  to  venture  into  the  dangerous 
parts  of  the  mine  without  the  protection  of  a  Geordy  lamp. 

The  time  that  Robert  spent  at  Killingworth  as  under  viewer 
was  to  advantage  both  to  his  father  and  himself.  The  evenings 
were  generally  devoted  to  reading  and  study,  the  two  from  this 
time  working  together  as  friends  and  co-laborers.  One  who  used 
to  drop  in  at  the  cottage  of  an  evening,  well  remembers  the  ani- 
mated and  eager  discussions  which  on  some  occasions  took  place, 
more  especially  with  reference  to  the  then  comparatively  un- 
known powers  of  the  locomotive  engine,  daily  at  work  on  the 
wagon-way.  The  son  was  even  more  enthusiastic  than  the 
father  on  this  subject.  Robert  would  suggest  alterations  and 
improvements  in  this,  that  and  the  other  details  of  the  machine. 
His  father,  on  the  contrary,  would  offer  every  possible  objection, 
defending  the  existing  arrangements — proud,  nevertheless,  of  his 
son's  suggestions,  and  often  warmed  and  excited  by  his  brilliant 
anticipations  of  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  locomotive. 

These  discussions,  probably,  had  considerable  influence  in  in- 
ducing Mr.  Stephenson  to  take  the  next  important  step  in  the 
education  of  his  son.  Although  Robert,  Avho  was  only  nineteen 
years  of  age,  was  doing  well,  and  was  certain,  at  the  expiration 
of  his  apprenticeship,  to  rise  to  a  higher  position,  his  father  was 
not  satisfied  with  the  amount  of  instruction  which  he  had  as  yet 
given  liim.     Remembering  the  disadvantages  under  which  he 


EDUCATION    OF   HIS    SON.  145 

had  labored  in  consequence  of  his  ignorance  of  practical  chem- 
istry during  his  investigations  connected  with  the  safety  lamp, 
more  especially  with  refei'cnce  to  the  properties  of  gas,  as  well 
as  in  the  course  of  his  experiments  in  connection  with  the  im- 
provement of  the  locomotive  engine,  he  desired  to  furnish  his  son 
with  as  complete  a  scientific  culture  as  his  means  could  afford. 
He  was  also  of  opinion  that  a  proper  training  in  technical  science 
was  almost  indispensable  to  success  in  the  higher  walks  of  the 
engineer's  profession ;  and,  aware  that  he  himself  could  not  now 
devote  the  requisite  time  and  attention  to  its  study,  he  deter- 
mined to  give  to  his  son  that  kind  and  degi'ee  of  education  which 
he  so  much  desired  for  himself.  He  would  thus,  he  knew,  secure 
a  hearty  and  generous  co-worker  in  the  elaboration  of  the  gi'eat 
ideas  now  looming  grandly  before  him,  and  with  their  united 
practical  and  scientific  knowledge  he  probably  felt  that  they 
would  be  equal  to  any  enterprise. 

He  accordingly  took  Robert  from  his  labors  as  under  viewer 
in  the  West  Moor  Pit,  and,  in  the  year  1820,  sent  him  to  the 
Edinburgh  University,  there  being  then  no  college  in  England 
accessible  to  persons  of  moderate  means,  for  purposes  of  scien- 
tific culture.  He  was  furnished  with  some  good  introductions  to 
men  of  science  in  Edinburgh,  the  reputation  of  his  father  in  con- 
nection with  the  safety  lamp  and  the  locomotive  being  of  some 
service  to  him  in  this  respect.  Though  he  studied  at  Edinburgh 
College  for  only  one  session  of  six  months,  he  entered  upon  the 
work  with  such  zest  and  interest — his  mind  was  so  ripe  for  the 
pursuit  and  reception  of  knowledge — that  it  is  not  too  much  to 
say,  that  in  that  short  period  he  learnt  more  than  most  students 
do  during  a  three  years  course.  He  attended  the  chemical 
lectures  of  Dr.  Hope,  the  lectui-es  on  natural  philosophy  by  Sir 
John  Leslie,  and  the  natural  history  classes  of  Jameson ;  and  his 
evenings  were  sedulously  devoted  to  the  study  of  practical  chem- 
istry under  Dr.  John  Murray,  himself  one  of  the  numerous  spec- 
ulators respecting  the  safety  lamp.  This  six  months  study  cost 
10 


\ 


146  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

his  father  80/.,  a  considerable  sum  with  him  in  those  days ;  but 
he  was  amply  repaid  when  his  son  returned  to  Killingworth,  in 
the  summer  of  1821,  bringing  with  him  the  prize  for  mathemat- 
ics, which  he  had  gained  at  the  University. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

RAILWAY  PIONEERS— WILLIA3I  JAMES,  EDWARD   PEASE, 
AND  THOMAS   GRAY. 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that,  although  George  Stephen- 
son's locomotive  engines  wei'e  in  daily  use  for  many  years  on 
the  Killingworth  railway,  they  excited  comparatively  little  in- 
terest. Yet  by  them  he  had  ali'eady  solved  the  great  problem 
of  the  employment  of  steam  power  for  the  purpose  of  railway 
traction.  In  his  hands  the  locomotive  was  no  longer  an  experi- 
ment ;  for  he  had  ascertained  and  proved,  by  the  experience  of 
years,  that  it  worked  more  steadily,  drew  heavier  loads,  and  was, 
on  the  whole,  a  more  economical  power  to  employ  on  railways 
than  horses.  Nevertheless,  eight  years  passed  before  another 
locomotive  railway  was  constructed  and  opened  for  the  purpose 
of  coal  traffic. 

It  is  difficult  to  account  for  this  early  indifference  on  the  part 
of  the  public  to  the  merits  of  the  greatest  mechanical  invention 
of  the  age.  Steam  carriages  were  exciting  great  interest ;  and 
numerous  and  repeated  experiments  were  made  with  them. 
The  improvements  effected  by  M'Adam  in  the  mode  of  con- 
structing turnpike  roads,  were  the  subject  of  frequent  discussions 
in  the  legislature ;  and  large  sums  of  money  were  voted  to  him 
by  the  government  for  his  so-called  "discovery."  It  appears 
from  a  discussion  which  took  place  in  the  House  of  Commons  on 
the  13th  of  May,  1825,  that  votes  of  money  had  been  granted 


148  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

to  ]VIr.  M'Adam  and  his  sons,  at  various  times,  amounting  to  not 
less  than  41,000/.;  and  yet  at  Killingworth,  without  the  aid  of  a 
farthing  of  government  money,  had  a  system  of  road  locomotion 
been  in  existence  since  1814,  which  was  destined,  before  many 
years,  to  revolutionize  the  internal  communications  of  England 
and  of  the  world,  but  of  which  the  English  public  and  the  Eng- 
lish government  as  yet  knew  nothing. 

Mr.  Stephenson  had  no  means  of  bringing  his  important  in- 
vention prominently  under  the  notice  of  the  public.  He  him- 
self knew  well  its  importance,  and  he  already  anticipated  its 
eventual  general  adoption;  but  being  an  unlettered  man,  he 
could  not  give  utterance  to  the  thoughts  which  brooded  within 
him  on  the  subject.  Killingworth  Colliery  lay  far  from  London, 
the  centre  of  scientific  life  in  England.  It  was  visited  by  no 
savans  nor  Hterary  men,  who  might  have  succeeded  in  introduc- 
ino-  to  notice  the  wonderful  machine  of  Stephenson.  Even  the 
local  chroniclers  seem  to  have  taken  no  notice  of  the  Killing- 
worth  railway.  The  "Puffing  Billy"  was  doing  its  daily  quota 
of  hard  work,  and  had  long  ceased  to  be  a  curiosity  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. Blenkinsop's  clumsier  and  less  successful  engine  — 
which  has  long  since  been  disused,  while  Stephenson's  KiUing- 
worth  engines  continue  working  to  this  day — excited  far  more 
interest,  partly,  perhaps,  because  it  was  close  to  the  large  town 
of  Leeds,  and  used  to  be  visited  by  strangers  as  one  of  the  few 
objects  of  interest  in  that  place.  Blenkinsop  was  also  an  edu- 
cated man,  and  was  in  communication  with  some  of  the  most 
distinguished  personages  of  his  day  upon  the  subject  of  his  loco- 
motive, which  thus  obtained  considerable  notoriety.  The  num- 
ber of  thinkers  and  observers  on  the  subject  of  railway  locomotion 
were  yet  few  in  number.  Amongst  these,  however,  was  the  late 
Sir  John  Sinclair,  who  had  some  correspondence  with  Mr.  Blen- 
kinsop on  the  subject,  and  also  that  sagacious  observer.  Sir  Rich- 
ard Phillips.  As  early  as  the  year  1813,  the  latter  writer,  with 
clear  foresight  of  the  uses  to  which  the  railway  locomotive  might 


RAILWAY   PIONEERS.  149 

be  applied,  used  the  following  remarkable  words  in  his  "  Morn- 
ing Walk  to  Kew,"  for  some  time  a  popular  book.  The  reflec- 
tions occurred  to  him  on  witnessing  the  performances  of  the 
horses  then  employed  in  working  the  tramAvay  used  for  the  con- 
veyance of  lime  from  Merstham  to  Wandsworth  in  Surrey.  The 
line  has  long  since  been  abandoned,  though  the  traveler  by  the 
Brighton  railway  can  still  discern  the  marks  of  the  old  road 
along  the  hillside  on  the  south  of  Croydon.* 

"I  found  delight,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "in  witnessing  at  Wands- 
worth the  economy  of  horse  labor  on  the  iron  railway.  Yet  a 
heavy  sigh  escaped  me  as  I  thought  of  the  inconceivable  mil- 
lions of  money  which  had  been  spent  about  Malta,  four  or  five 
of  which  might  have  been  the  means  of  extending  double  lines 
of  iron  railway  from  London  to  Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  Holyhead, 
Milford,  Falmouth,  Yarmouth,  Dover  and  Portsmouth.  A  re- 
ward of  a  single  thousand  would  have  supplied  coaches  and  other 
vehicles,  of  various  degrees  of  speed,  Avith  the  best  tackle  for 
readily  turning  out ;  and  we  might,  ere  this,  have  witnessed  our 
mail  coaches  running  at  the  rate  of  ten  miles  an  hour  drawn  by 
a  single  horse,  or  impelled  fifteen  miles  an  hour  by  Blenkinsop's 

*  Charles  Knight  thus  pleasantly  describes  this  old  road:  "The  earliest  railway  for 
public  traffic  in  England  was  one  passing  from  Merstham  to  Wandsworth,  through  Croy- 
don ;  a  small  single  line,  on  which  a  miserable  team  of  lean  mules  or  donkeys,  some 
thirty  years  ago,  might  be  seen  crawling  at  the  rate  of  four  miles  an  hour,  with  several 
trucks  of  stone  and  lime  behind  them.  It  was  commenced  in  1801,  opened  in  1803 ;  and 
the  men  of  science  of  that  day — we  cannot  say  that  the  respectable  name  of  Stephenson 
was  not  among  them  [Stephenson  was  then  a  brakesman  at  Killingworth]  —  tested  its 
capabilities,  and  found  that  one  horse  could  draw  some  thirty-five  tons  at  six  miles  in 
the  hour,  and  then,  with  prophetic  wisdom,  declared  that  railways  could  never  be 
worked  profitably.  The  old  Croydon  Railway  is  no  longer  used.  The  genius  loci  must 
look  with  wonder  on  the  gigantic  offspring  of  the  little  railway,  which  has  swallowed  up 
its  own  sire.  Lean  mules  no  longer  crawl  leisurely  along  the  little  rails  with  trucks  of 
stone  through  Croydon,  once  perchance  during  the  day,  but  the  whistle  and  the  rush  of 
the  locomotive  are  now  heard  all  day  long.  Not  a  few  loads  of  lime,  but  all  London  and 
its  contents,  by  comparison  —  men,  women,  children,  horses,  dogs,  oxen,  sheep,  pigs, 
carriages,  merchandise,  food — would  seem  to  be  now-a-days  passing  through  Croydon ; 
for  day  after  day,  more  than  100  journeys  are  made  by  the  great  railroads  which  pass 
the  place." 


150  LIFE  OF   GEORGE  STEPHEXSOX. 

Steam-engine.  Such  would  have  been  a  legitimate  motive  for 
overstepping  the  income  of  a  nation ;  and  the  comj)letion  of  so 
great  and  useful  a  work  would  have  afforded  rational  gi'ound  for 
public  triumph  in  general  jubilee." 

Although  Sir  Richard  Philhps's  estimate  of  the  cost  of  con- 
structing railways  was  very  fallacious,  as  experience  has  since 
proved,  his  estimate  of  the  admii-able  uses  to  which  they  might 
be  apphed — though  it  was  practically  impossible  for  Blenkin- 
sop's  engine  to  have  traveled  on  cogged  rails  at  fifteen  miles  an 
hour — was  sagacious  and  far-seeing  in  a  remarkable  degree. 

There  were  other  speculators,  who,  about  the  same  time,  vrere 
urging  and  predicting  the  adoption  of  raihvays  as  a  mode  of 
rapid  transit.  For  instance,  ]\Ir.  Edgeworth,  in  a  communication 
to  James  Watt,  dated  the  7th  of  August,  1813,  observed:  "I 
have  always  thought  that  steam  would  become  the  universal 
lord,  and  that  we  should  in  time  scorn  post-horses.  An  iron  rail- 
road would  be  a  cheaper  thing  than  a  road  on  the  common  con- 
struction." *  These,  however,  were  merely  guesses  at  what 
might  be  done,  and  were  of  no  assistance  towards  the  practical 
solution  of  the  problem.  Yet  they  show  that  many  advanced 
minds  were  already  anticipating  the  adoption  of  steam  power  for 
purposes  of  railway  traction.  At  the  same  time  there  was  at 
work  a  more  profitable  class  of  laborers — the  public-spirited  men 
who  were  engaged  in  projectijig  and  actually  forming  railways 
to  supply  the  wants  of  important  districts  of  population.  Among 
the  most  prominent  of  these  were  William  James  of  West  Brom- 
wich,  and  Edward  Pease  of  Darlington. 

Wilham  James  was  instrumental  in  giving  a  great  impetus  to 
the  question  of  railway  locomotion ;  and  though  he  did  not  dis- 
cover the  locomotive,  he  did  what  was  the  next  best  thing  to  it, 
he  discovered  George  Stephenson.  He  was  a  man  of  consider- 
able fortune,  and  occupied  an  influential  position  in  society. 
Possessed  of  a  good  address,  and  mixing  freely  with  men  of  the 

*  Muirhead's  Mechanical  Inventions  of  James  Watt,  toI.  i,  p.  240. 


WILLIAM  JAMES.  151 

highest  rank,  he  was  enabled  to  gain  a  hearing  for  his  specula- 
tions where  humbler  persons  had  no  chance  of  being  listened  to. 
Besides  being  an  extensive  land-owner  and  land-agent,  he  was 
engaged  as  an  iron  and  coal-miner,  and  at  one  time  occupied  the 
honorable  position  of  chairman  of  the  Staffordshire  iron-masters. 

Mr.  James  was  a  bold,  and,  as  many  considered  him,  a  reck- 
less projector.  When  he  had  determined  upon  any  scheme,  he 
was  quite  regardless  of  the  cost  at  which  he  carried  it  out.  He 
did  not  confine  liimself  to  projects  connected  with  his  own  pai-tic- 
ular  interests,  but  was  constantly  engaged  in  devising  things  for 
the  public,  which  the  public  shook  its  cautious  head  at,  and 
would  not  have  at  any  price.  At  a  very  early  period  of  his  life 
he  was  an  advocate  of  railways.  It  was  not  merely  a  sober  con- 
viction of  their  utility  that  influenced  him ;  the  idea  of  railway 
locomotion  haunted  him  like  a  passion.  He  went  to  Camborne, 
in  Cornwall,  to  see  Trevethick  upon  the  subject,  in  1803,  and 
witnessed  the  performances  of  his  engine  at  Merthyr  Tydvil  in 
the  following  year.  In  an  article  which  he  published  in  one  of 
the  early  numbers  of  the  "  Railway  Magazine,"  he  stated  that 
as  eaiiy  as  1803  he  contemplated  the  projection  of  a  railway 
between  Liverpool  and  Manchester.*  Many  years,  however, 
elapsed  before  he  proceeded  to  enter  upon  the  survey.  Li  the 
meantime  he  was  occupied  with  other  projects. 

In  180G  he  contemplated  the  formation  of  a  tramway  from 
Birmingham  towards  "Wedgebury  and  the  Staffordshire  coal  dis- 
tricts. We  next  find  him  projecting  and  partly  forming  a  tram- 
way from  Clutton  Colliery,  belonging  to  the  Earl  of  Warwick  — 
about  twelve  miles  in  length — to  Bristol.  And  about  the  same 
time  he  entered  into  an  arrangement  with  Mr.  Protheroe  to  con- 
struct another  tramway  from  the  Forest  of  Dean  to  Gloucester. 

*  There  -were  numerous  projectors  of  railways  for  the  accommodation  of  the  large 
towns,  even  at  that  early  period.  Thus  we  find  in  the  Leeds  Mercury  of  the  16th  Janu- 
ary, 1B02,  a  letter  signed  "  Mercator,"  in  which  the  formation  of  a  line  of  railway  from 
Leeds  to  Selby  was  strongly  recommended.  Thirty  years,  however,  passed,  before  that 
railway  was  formed. 


152  LIFE  OF  GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

About  1814  he  was  cutting,  at  his  own  expense,  a  canal  between 
Birmingham  and  Stratford-on-Avon ;  and  some  years  after,  in 
conjunction  with  Lord  Redesdale,  he  constructed  a  i-ailway  from 
Stratford-on-Avon  to  Moreton-in-the-]Marsh — the  first  railway  in 
that  district  laid  with  Avrought  iron  rails,  for  the  special  purpose 
of  being  worked  by  locomotive  power. 

In  the  year  1815,  we  find  Mr.  James  addressing  a  "Letter  to 
the  Prince  Regent,"  in  wliich  he  showed  that  he  anticipated 
rapid  locomotion  by  steam  and  other  means.  His  project  was  to 
form  a  railway  between  London  and  Chatham,  together  with  a 
capacious  war-dock  at  the  latter  place,  the  gates  of  which  were 
to  be  formed  with  caissons,  after  the  plan  of  the  docks  of  the  then 
unknown  Russian  wai'-port  of  Sebastopol.  Tliose  caissons  were 
then  being  manufactured  in  England ;  and  Mr.  James  had  sot 
his  idea  of  them  from  L^pton,  the  engineer,  Avith  whom  he  was 
well  acquainted.  Nothing,  however,  came  of  this  Grand  Chat- 
ham project. 

Being  a  shareholder  in  the  Wandsworth  and  Merstham  Rail- 
way, which  had  thus  far  proved  an  abortive  project,  paying  not 
more  than  about  one  per  cent,  per  annum  to  its  proprietors,  Mr. 
James  came  up  to  London  in  1818,  to  urge  the  formation  of  a 
line  of  railway  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  Waterloo  Bridge, 
to  join  the  Merstham  line ;  but  the  project  was  abandoned.  He 
next  endeavored  to  have  the  Merstham  tramroad  converted  into 
a  locomotive  railway.  The  suggestion,  however,  met  with  no 
favor,  and  his  speculations  soon  turned  in  another  direction. 

We  have  before  us  an  engraved  plan,  dated  1820,  of  a  "Cen- 
tral Junction  Railway"  projected  by  Mr.  James,  which  was 
extensively  circulated  by  him  amongst  influential  persons,  show- 
ing a  comprehensive  scheme  of  railways  connecting  London  with 
Oxford,  and  through  his  railway  at  Moreton-in-the- Marsh,  with 
Stratford-on-Avon  and  Birmingham,  a  branch  line  giving  accom- 
modation to  Cheltenham  and  Gloucester.  But  this,  too,  remained 
merely  a  project. 


EDWARD    PEASE.  153 

Mr.  Edward  Pease,  of  Darlington,  was  a  man  of  an  entirely 
difierent  stamp.  He  too,  like  Mr.  James,  was  connected  with 
coal  mines,  and  interested  in  improving  the  internal  communica- 
tions of  his  neighborhood,  chiefly  with  the  object  of  opening  out 
new  markets  for  the  vast  stores  of  coal  found  in  the  Bishop 
Aukland  valley  above  Darlington.  But  though  he  was  not  so 
ambitious  as  Mr.  James  in  reference  to  the  extension  of  railways, 
the  prosperity  which  attended  his  one  great  enterprise  did  more 
for  their  eventual  success  than  all  Mr.  James's  efforts.  It  would 
appear  that,  at  first,  Mr.  Pease  contemplated  only  a  horse  tram- 
road  between  Stockton  and  Darlington ;  but  as  he  proceeded 
with  the  pi'oject,  and  especially  after  he  had  become  personally 
acquainted  with  George  Stephenson,  he  gradually,  but  cautiously, 
became  a  convert  to  the  locomotive  system. 

The  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway  was  an  undertaking  of 
great  importance,  although  it  was  afterwards  thrown  into  the 
shade  by  the  more  brilliant  project  of  the  Liverpool  and  Man- 
chester Railway,  which  was  not  commenced  for  several  years 
after.  As  the  fu-st  iron  road  constructed  for  the  purpose  of  gen- 
eral traffic,  and  as  the  first  public  highway  on  which  locomotive 
engines  were  regularly  employed,  the  Stockton  and  Darlington 
project  unquestionably  exercised  very  great  influence  upon  the 
future  history  of  railway  locomotion. 

Of  this  railway  Edward  Pease  was  the  projector.  A  thought- 
ful and  sagacious  man,  ready  in  resources,  possessed  of  indomi- 
table energy  and  perseverance,  he  was  eminently  qualified  to 
undertake  what  appeared  to  many  the  desperate  enterprise  of 
obtaining  an  Act  of  Parliament  to  construct  a  railway  through  a 
rather  unpromising  district.  One  who  knew  him  in  1818  said, 
"he  was  a  man  who  could  see  a  hundred  years  ahead."  "When 
the  writer  last  saw  him,  in  the  autumn  of  1854,  Mr.  Pease  was 
in  his  eighty-eighth  year ;  yet  he  still  possessed  the  hoi>efulness 
and  mental  vigor  of  a  man  in  his  prime.  Hale  and  hearty,  full 
of  interesting  reminiscences  of  the  past,  he  yet  entered  with 


154  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

interest  into  the  life  of  the  present,  and  displayed  a  warm  sym- 
pathy for  all  current  projects  calculated  to  render  the  lives  of 
men  happier.  Still  sound  in  health,  his  eye  had  not  lost  its  bril- 
liancy, nor  his  cheek  its  color;  and  tliere  was  an  elasticity  in  his 
step  which  younger  men  might  have  envied.  His  vigorous  judg- 
ment and  genuine  native  shrewdness,  together  with  that  coura- 
geous strength  and  tenacity  of  purpose  which  made  him,  when 
once  convinced,  stand  by  the  railway  project  upon  which  he  had 
set  his  heart,  when  all  the  world  called  him  schemer  and  fool, 
had  not  yet  departed  from  him ;  and  he  could  now  afford  to 
crack  a  lively  joke  at  the  prejudiced  blindness  of  those  who  had 
so  long  made  him  the  subject  of  their  ridicule.  Pointing  to  a 
fine  prospect  from  his  drawing-room  window,  extending  to  the 
wooded  knolls  on  the  further  side  of  the  valley,  the  numerous 
full-grown  trees  within  sight,  gay  in  all  the  gorgeous  livery  of 
autumn,  Mr.  Pease  observed: — "What  changes  happen  in  a 
single  lifetime  !  Look  at  those  fine  old  trees  ;  every  one  of  them 
has  been  planted  by  m)'  own  hand.  When  I  was  a  boy  I  was 
fond  of  planting,  and  my  father  indulged  me  in  my  pastime.  I 
went  about  with  a  spade  in  my  hand,  planting  trees  everywhere 
as  far  as  you  can  see :  they  grew  wliilst  I  slept ;  and  now  see 
what  a  goodly  array  they  make!  Ay,"  continued  he,  "but 
Railways  are  a  far  more  extraordinary  growth  even  than 
these.  They  have  grown  up  not  only  since  I  was  a  boy,  but 
since  I  became  a  man.  When  I  started  the  Stockton  and  Dar- 
lington Railway,  some  five  and  thirty  years  since,  I  was  already 
fifty  years  old.  Nobody  could  then  have  dreamt  what  railways 
would  have  grown  to,  within  one  man's  lifetime." 

In  projecting  a  railway  from  Witton  Colliery,  a  few  miles 
above  Darlington,  to  Stockton,  in  the  year  1817,  Edward  Pease 
at  first  stood  almost  alone.  Long  before  this  railway  was  pro- 
jected— as  early  as  the  year  1768  —  the  scheme  of  a  canal  had 
been  discussed,  and  Brindley,  the  engineer,  who  had  at  one 
period  of  his  life  worked  in  the  neighborhood  as  a  laborer,  was 


THE    STOCKTON    AND    DARLINGTON    LINE.  155 

consulted.  The  project,  however,  proceeded  no  further,  prob- 
ably from  want  of  support.  In  1812,  Mr.  Rennie,  the  engineer, 
was  employed  to  make  a  survey  of  a  tramroad.  But  the  com- 
mercial distress  which  then  prevailed  in  the  county  of  Durham 
prevented  the  project  from  ripening  to  maturity.  The  necessity 
for  finding  an  outlet  and  new  markets  for  the  Bishop  Aukland 
coals  continued,  however,  to  be  felt.  What  was  at  first  contem- 
plated by  Mr.  Pease,  was  merely  the  means  of  effecting  land 
sales  of  coal  at  the  stations  along  the  proposed  railway.  The 
shipment  of  coal  from  the  Tees  was  not  taken  into  account  as  a 
source  of  profit.  It  was  not  expected  that  coals  could  be  led 
there  to  advantage,  or  that  more  than  10,000  tons  could  be  dis- 
posed of  at  Stockton,  and  those  merely  for  the  purpose  of  bal- 
lasting ships  disembarking  goods  at  that  port.  The  conveyance 
of  passengers  was  not  even  dreamt  of. 

In  getting  up  a  company  for  the  purpose  of  surveying  and 
forming  a  railway,  Mr.  Pease  had  great  difficulties  to  contend 
with.  The  people  of  the  neighborhood  spoke  of  it  as  a  ridicu- 
lous undertaking,  and  predicted  that  it  would  be  the  ruin  of  all 
who  had  to  do  with  it.  Even  those  who  were  most  interested  in 
the  opening  out  of  new  markets  for  the  vend  of  their  coals,  were 
indifferent,  if  not  actually  hostile.  The  Stockton  merchants  and 
ship-owners,  whom  the  formation  of  a  railway  was  calculated  to 
benefit  so  greatly,  gave  the  project  no  support ;  and  not  twenty 
shares  were  subscribed  for  in  the  whole  town.  Mr.  Pease  never- 
theless persevered  Avith  the  formation  of  a  company ;  and  he 
induced  many  of  his  friends  and  relations  to  subscribe  for  shares. 
The  Richardsons  and  Backhouses,  members,  like  himselfj  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  influenced  by  his  persuasion,  united  them- 
selves with  him ;  and  so  many  of  the  same  denomination  (hav- 
ing great  confidence  in  these  influential  Darlington  names) 
followed  their  example  and  subscribed  for  shares,  that  the  rail- 
way subsequently  obtained  the  designation,  which  it  still  enjoys, 
of  "  The  Quakers'  Line." 


156  LIFE   OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

The  engineer  first  employed  to  make  a  survey  of  the  tramroad, 
was  a  Mr.  Overton,  who  had  had  considerable  experience  in  the 
formation  of  similar  roads  in  Wales.  The  necessary  preliminary 
steps  were  taken  in  the  year  1818  to  apply  for  an  Act  to  author- 
ize the  construction  of  a  tramroad  from  Witton  to  Stockton. 
The  measure  was,  however,  strongly  opposed  by  the  Duke  of 
Cleveland,  because  the  proposed  line  passed  near  to  one  of  his 
fox  covers ;  and,  having  considerable  parliamentary  influence,  he 
succeeded  in  throwing  out  the  bill  by  a  majority  of  only  thirteen 
— above  one  hundred  members  voting  in  support  of  the  measure. 
A  nobleman  said,  when  he  heard  of  the  division,  "Well,  if  the 
Quakers  in  these  times,  when  nobody  knows  anything  about  rail- 
ways, can  raise  up  such  a  phalanx  as  they  have  done  on  this 
occasion,  I  should  recommend  the  county  gentlemen  to  be  very 
wary  how  they  oppose  them." 

A  new  survey  was  then  made,  avoiding  the  Duke's  fox  cover ; 
and  in  1819  a  renewed  application  was  made  to  Parliament  for 
an  Act.  But  George  III  dying  in  January,  1820,  while  Parlia- 
ment was  still  sitting,  there  was  a  dissolution,  and  the  bill  was 
necessarily  suspended.  The  promoters,  however,  did  not  lose 
sight  of  their  project.  They  had  now  spent  a  considerable  sum 
of  money  in  surveys  and  legal  and  parliamentary  expenses,  and 
were  determined  to  proceed,  though  they  were  still  unable  to  en- 
list the  active  support  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  districts  proposed 
to  be  served  by  the  railway. 

As  an  instance  of  the  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  local  author- 
ities, which  the  promoters  had  to  encounter,  we  may  mention 
that,  in  1819,  while  the  bill  Avas  before  Parliament,  the  road 
trustees,  perhaps  secretly  fearing  the  success  of  the  railway, 
which  openly  they  denied,  got  up  an  alarm,  predicting  the  total 
and  immediate  ruin  of  the  turnpike  road  trusts  in  event  of  the 
bill  becoming  law.  On  this  Mr.  Pease  published  a  notice  inti- 
mating that  if  any  of  the  creditors  or  mortgagees  of  the  road 
between  Darhngton  and  West  Aukland  Were  apprehensive  that 


MODEST   ANTICIPATIONS.  157 

the  proposed  rail  or  tramway  would  be  prejudicial  to  their  in- 
terests, the  promoters  would,  through  their  solicitors,  (Raisbeck 
and  Mewburn,)  purchase  their  securities  at  the  price  originally 
paid  for  them.  This  measure  had  the  salutary  effect  of  quieting 
the  road  interests  for  a  season,  though  they  afterwards  displayed 
an  active  hostility  to  the  railway  when  it  came  to  be  formed. 

The  energy  of  Edward  Pease,  backed  by  the  support  of  his 
Quaker  friends,  enabled  him  to  hold  the  company  together,  to 
raise  the  requisite  preliminary  funds  from  time  to  time  for  the 
purpose  of  prosecuting  the  undertaking,  and  eventually  to  over- 
come the  opposition  raised  against  the  measure  in  Parhament. 
The  bill  at  length  passed ;  and  the  royal  assent  was  given  to  the 
first  Stockton  and  DarUngton  Railway  act,  on  the  19th  of  April, 
1821. 

The  preamble  of  this  Act  recites,  that  "the  making  and  main- 
taining of  a  Railway  or  Tramroad,  for  the  passage  of  wagons 
and  other  carriages"  from  Stockton  to  Witton  Park  Colliery 
(by  DarUngton),  "will  be  of  great  public  utility,  by  faciUtating 
the  conveyance  of  coal,  iron,  lime,  corn,  and  other  commodities," 
between  the  places  mentioned.  The  projectors  of  the  hne  did 
not  originally  contemplate  the  employment  of  locomotives ;  for 
in  the  Act  they  provide  for  the  making  and  maintaining  of  the 
tramroads  for  the  passage  upon  them  "of  wagons  and  other  car- 
riao-es,"  '■^with  men  and  horses  or  otherwise,"  and  a  further  clause 
made  provision  as  to  the  damages  which  might  be  done  in  the 
course  of  traffic  by  the  "wagoners."  The  public  were  to  be  free 
"to  use,  with  horses,  cattle  and  carriages,"  the  roads  formed  by 
the  company,  on  payment  of  the  authorized  rates,  "between  the 
hours  of  seven  in  the  morning  and  six  in  the  evening,"  during 
the  winter  months ;  "between  six  in  the  morning  and  eight  in 
the  evening,"  in  two  of  the  spring  and  autumn  months  each ;  and 
"between  five  in  the  morning  and  ten  in  the  evening,"  in  the 
high  summer  months  of  INIay,  June,  July  and  August. 


158  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPIIENSOISr. 

From  this  it  Avill  be  obvious  that  the  projectors  of  this  line 
had  themselves  at  first  no  very  large  conceptions  as  to  the  scope 
of  their  project.  A  public  locomotive  railway  was  as  yet  a  new 
and  untried  thing ;  and  the  Darlington  men  merely  proposed,  by 
means  of  their  intended  road,  to  provide  a  more  facile  mode  of 
transporting  their  coals  and  merchandise  to  market. 

Although  the  locomotive  had  been  working  for  years  success- 
%lly  at  Killingworth,  its  merits  do  not  seem  to  have  been  fairly 
estimated,  even  in  the  locality  itself;  and  it  was  still  regarded 
rather  in  the  light  of  a  mechanical  curiositj^,  than  as  the  vital 
force  of  the  railway  system. 

Thomas  Gray,  of  Nottingham,  was  a  much  more  sanguine 
and  speculative  man.  He  was  not  a  mechanic  nor  an  inventor, 
nor  a  coal  owner,  but  an  enthusiastic  believer  in  the  wonderful 
powers  of  the  railroad  system.  Being  a  native  of  Leeds,  he  had, 
when  a  boy,  seen  Blenkinsop's  locomotive  at  work  on  the  Middle- 
ton  cogged  railroad ;  and  from  an  early  period  he  seems  to  have 
entertained  almost  as  sanguine  views  on  the  subject  as  Sir  Rich- 
ard Phillips  himself.  It  would  appear  that  Gray  was  residing 
in  Brussels  in  1816,  when  the  project  of  a  canal  from  Charleroi, 
for  the  purpose  of  connecting  Holland  with  the  mining  districts 
of  Belgium,  was  the  subject  of  discussion ;  and,  in  conversation 
with  Mr.  John  Cockerill  and  others,  he  took  the  opportunity  of 
advocating  the  superior  advantages  of  a  railway.  For  some 
years  after,  he  pondered  the  subject  more  carefully,  and  at  length 
became  fully  possessed  by  the  grand  idea  on  which  other  minds 
Were  now  at  work.  He  occupied  himself  for  some  time  with  the 
preparation  of  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject.  He  shut  himself  up 
in  his  room  secluded  from  his  wife  and  relations,  declining  to 
give  them  any  information  on  the  subject  of  his  mysterious 
studies,  beyond  the  assurance  that  his  scheme  "  would  revolution- 
ize the  whole  face  of  the  material  world,  and  of  society."  * 

*  The  Railway  System  and  its  Author,  Thomas  Gray,  now  of  Exeter.    A  Letter  to  Sir 
Robert  Peel.    By  Thomas  Wilson.    1845.    In  this  very  eloquent  and  generous  tribute  to 


THOMAS    GRAY.  159 

In  1820,  Mr.  Gray  published  the  result  of  his  studies  in  liis 
"  Observations  on  a  General  Iron  Railway,"!  iu  which,  Avith 
great  cogency,  he  urged  the  superiority  of  a  locomotive  railway 
over  common  roads  and  canals,  pointing  out,  at  the  same  time, 
the  advantages  of  this  mode  of  conveyance  for  merchandise  and 
persons,  to  all  classes  of  the  community.  That  Mr.  Gray  had 
obtained  his  idea  from  Blenkinsop's  engine  and  road,  is  obvious 
from  the  accurate  engraving  which  he  gives  in  his  book  of  the 
cog-wheeled  engine  then  traveling  upon  the  Middleton  cogged 
raih'oad. 

The  treatise  seems  to  have  met  with  a  ready  sale ;  for  we 
find  that,  two  years  after,  it  had  already  passed  into  a  fourth 
edition.  In  1822,  Mi-.  Gray  added  to  the  book  a  diagram, 
showing  a  number  of  suggested  lines  of  railway,  connecting  the 
principal  towns  of  England,  and  another  in  like  manner  connect- 
ing the  principal  towns  of  Ireland.  In  his  first  edition,  Mr.  Gray 
suggested  the  propriety  of  making  a  railway  between  Manchester 
and  Liverpool,  "which,"  he  observed,  "Avould  employ  many  thou- 
sands of  the  distressed  population"  of  Lancashire. 

The  publication  of  this  essay  must  have  had  the  effect  of 
bringing  the  subject  of  railway  extension  more  prominently 
under  the  notice  of  the  public  than  it  had  been  brought  before. 
Although  little  able  to  afford  it.  Gray  also  pressed  his  favorite 
project  of  a  general  iron  road  on  the  attention  of  public  men  — 

the  memory  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Wilson  has  endeavored  to  make  it  appear  that  Thomas 
Gray  was  the  inventor,  originator,  creator  and  founder  of  the  Railway  Locomotive  Sys- 
tem, forgetting  that  railways  had  been  at  work  before  Mr.  Gray  was  born,  and  that  the 
locomotive  had  been  invented  while  he  was  yet  a  boy.  The  "  true  founder  of  the  railway 
system  "  certainly  was  not  Thomas  Gray,  though  he  wrote  a  clever  and  far-seeing  treat- 
ise about  railways.  The  true  founder  of  the  railway  system  was  the  man  who  invented 
such  a  locomotive  as  made  railway  locomotion  practicable  and  profitable.  And  this  had 
been  done  long  before  Mr.  Gray  turned  his  attention  to  the  subject. 

t  Observations  on  a  General  Iron  Railway  (with  Plates  and  Maps  illustrative  of  the 
plan),  showing  its  great  superiority,  by  the  general  introduction  of  mechanic  power,  over 
aU  the  present  methods  of  conveyance  by  turnpike  roads  and  canals ;  and  claiming  the 
particular  attention  of  merchants,  manufacturers,  farmers,  and  indeed  every  class  of 
society.    London :  Baldwin,  Cradock  and  Joy,  1820. 


160  LIFE  OF   GEOKGE   STEPHENSOX. 

mayors,  members  of  Parliament  and  prime  ministers.  He  sent 
memorials  to  Lord  Sidmouth  in  1820,  and  to  the  Lord  Mayor 
and  Corporation  of  London  in  1821.  In  1822,  he  addressed  the 
Earl  of  Liverpool,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  others,  urging  the  great 
national  importance  of  his  system.  La  the  year  following,  he 
petitioned  the  ministers  of  state  to  the  same  effect.  He  was  so 
pertinacious,  that  public  men  pronounced  him  to  be  a  "  bore,"  and 
in  the  town  of  Nottingham,  where  he  then  hved,  those  who  knew 
him  declared  him  to  be  "cracked." 

William  Howitt,  who  frequently  met  Gray  at  that  time,  has 
published  a  Hvely  portraiture*  of  this  indefatigable  and  enthusi- 
astic projector,  who  seized  all  men  by  the  button,  and  would  not 
let  them  go  until  he  had  unraveled  to  them  liis  wonderful  scheme. 
With  Thomas  Gray,  "begin  where  you  would,  on  whatever  sub- 
ject— the  weather,  the  news,  the  political  movement  or  event  of 
the  day — it  would  not  be  many  minutes  before  you  would  be 
enveloped  with  steam,  and  listening  to  a  harangue  on  the  prac- 
ticability and  immense  advantages,  to  the  nation  and  to  every 
man  in  it,  of  '  a  general  iron  railway.'  "f 

While  Thomas  Gray  was  thus  agitating  the  general  adoption 
of  railways,  George  Stephenson  was  doing  much  more — he  was 
making  railways,  and  building  efficient  locomotives  with  which 

*  People's  Journal,  August  1st,  1846.  Art.  "A  word  for  Thomas  Gray,  the  Author 
of  the  General  Railway  System." 

t  Thomas  Gray  never  got  beyond  his  idea  of  Blenkinsop's  cogged  wheel  and  cogged  rail. 
Probably  he  was  not  aware  that  Blackctt  and  Stephenson  had  both,  as  early  as  1814, 
demonstrated  the  cogs  to  be  not  only  unnecessarj*,  but  positive  impediments  to  the  work- 
ing of  the  locomotive  engine  through  the  jolting  and  friction  which  they  caused.  Not- 
withstanding the  triumphant  success  of  the  smooth-wheeled  locomotive,  and  the  smooth 
rail,  on  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line,  in  1830,  we  find  Thomas  Gray  in  the  follow- 
ing year  (Mechanics'  Magazine,  May  14th,  1831),  declaring  it  to  be  an  expensive  blunder, 
lie  urged  the  adoption  of  a  greased  road,  with  his  favorite  device  of  cog-rails  and  racks 
placed  outside  the  smooth  rails.  Had  the  advice  of  this  '•  founder  of  the  railway  system," 
as  his  friends  have  styled  him,  been  adopted,  the  modern  railway  system  would  have 
been  simply  impracticable.  But  Thomas  Gr.ay  himself  never  claimed  to  be  the  inventor 
or  discoverer  of  railways.  He  labored  under  the  disadvantage  of  not  being  a  mechanic. 
His  engraving  of  a  railway  train,  prefixed  to  his  book,  shows  that,  if  once  set  in  motion, 
it  could  not  have  been  pulled  up  without  going  to  pieces. 


THE   HETTON    RAILWAY.  161 

to  work  them.  Although  he  had  not  lost  faith  in  the  powers 
of  the  locomotive,  he  had  now  waited  for  so  many  years  without 
observing  any  prospect  of  their  extended  use,  that  his  old  idea 
of  removing  his  skill  and  small  capital  to  the  United  States  seems 
for  a  time  to  have  revived.  Before  becoming  a  sleeping  partner 
in  a  small  foundry  at  Forth  Banks  in  Newcastle,  managed  by 
Mr.  John  Burrell,  he  had  thrown  out  the  suggestion  that  it  would 
be  a  good  speculation  for  them  to  emigrate  to  North  America, 
and  introduce  steam-boats  upon  the  great  inland  lakes.  The 
first  steamers  were  then  plying  upon  the  Tyne  before  his  eyes : 
and  he  saw  in  them  the  germ  of  a  great  revolution  in  navigation. 
It  occurred  to  him  that  North  America  presented  the  finest  field 
on  which  to  try  their  wonderful  powers.  He  was  an  engineer, 
and  Mr.  Burrell  was  an  ii-on-founder ;  and,  between  them,  he 
thought  they  could  strike  out  a  path  to  success  in  the  mighty 
West.  Fortunately,  this  remained  a  mere  speculation,  so  far  as 
Mr.  Stephenson  was  concerned ;  and  it  was  left  to  others  to  do 
what  he  had  dreamt  of  achievmg.  After  all  his  patient  waiting, 
his  skill,  industry,  and  perseverance  were  at  length  about  to  beai- 
fruit. 

In  1819,  the  owners  of  the  Hetton  Colliery,  in  the  county  of 
Durham,  determined  to  have  their  wagon-way  altered  into  a 
locomotive  railroad.  The  result  of  the  working  of  the  Killing- 
worth  Railway  had  been  so  satisfactory  that  they  resolved  to 
adopt  the  same  system.  One  reason  why  an  experiment  so  long 
continued  and  so  successfully  as  that  at  Killingworth  should  have 
been  so  slow  in  producing  results,  perhaps  was,  that  to  lay  down 
a  railway  and  furnish  it  with  locomotives,  or  fixed  engines  where 
necessary,  required  a  very  large  capital,  beyond  the  means  of 
ordinary  coal-owners,  whilst  the  small  amount  of  interest  felt  in 
railways  by  the  general  public,  and  the  supposed  impracticability 
of  working  them  to  a  profit,  as  yet  prevented  the  ordinary  capi- 
talists from  venturing  their  money  in  the  promotion  of  such 
undertakings.  The  Hetton  Coal  Company  was,  however,  pos- 
11 


162  LIFE  OF   GEORGE  STEPUENSOX. 

sessed  of  adequate  means ;  and  the  local  reputation  of  the  Kil- 
lingworth  engine-wright  pointed  him  out  as  the  man  best  calcu- 
lated to  lay  out  their  line  and  suj^erintend  their  works.  They 
accordingly  invited  him  to  act  as  the  engineer  of  tlie  proposed 
railway.  Being  in  the  service  of  the  Killingworth  Company, 
Mr.  Stephenson  felt  it  necessary  to  obtain  their  permission  to 
enter  upon  this  new  work.  This  was  at  once  granted.  The 
best  feeling  existed  between  him  and  his  employers ;  and  they 
regarded  it  as  a  compliment  that  their  colliery  engineer  should 
be  selected  for  a  work  so  important  as  the  laying  down  of  the 
Hetton  Railway,  which  was  to  be  the  longest  locomotive  line  that 
had,  up  to  that  time,  been  constructed  in  the  neighborhood. 
!Mr.  Stephenson  accepted  the  appointment,  his  brother  Robert 
acting  as  resident  engineer,  and  personally  superintending  the 
execution  of  the  works. 

The  Hetton  Railway  extended  from  the  Hetton  Collieiy,  sit- 
uated about  two  miles  south  of  Houghton-le-Spring,  in  the  county 
of  Durham,  to  the  shipping-place  on  the  banks  of  the  Wear,  near 
Sunderland.  Its  length  was  about  eight  miles  ;  and  in  its  com-se 
it  crossed  "Wai'den  Law,  one  of  the  highest  hills  in  the  district. 
The  character  of  the  country  forbade  the  construction  of  a  flat 
line,  or  one  of  comparatively  easy  gradients,  except  by  the  ex- 
penditure of  a  much  larger  capital  than  was  placed  at  JNIr.  Ste- 
phenson's command.  Heavy  works  could  not  be  executed :  it 
was,  therefore,  necessary  to  form  the  line  with  but  little  deviation 
from  the  natural  conformation  of  the  district  which  it  traversed, 
and  also  to  adapt  the  mechanical  methods  employed  for  the  work- 
ing of  the  railway  to  the  character  of  the  gi'adients,  which  in 
some  places  were  necessarily  heavy. 

Although  Mr.  Stephenson  had,  with  every  step  made  towards 
its  increased  utility,  become  more  and  more  identified  with  the 
success  of  the  locomotive  engine,  he  did  not  allow  his  enthusiasm 
to  carry  him  away  into  costly  mistakes.  He  carefully  drew  the 
line  between  the  cases  in  which  tho  locomotive  could  be  usefully 


OPENING   OF   THE   HETTON   RAILWAY.  163 

employed,  and  those  in  which  stationary  engines  were  calculated 
to  be  more  economical.  This  led  him,  as  in  the  instance  of  the 
Hetton  Railway,  to  execute  lines  tlu'ough  and  over  rough  coun- 
tries, where  gradients  within  the  powers  of  the  locomotive  en- 
gine of  that  day  could  not  be  secured,  employing  in  their  stead 
stationaiy  engines  where  locomotives  were  not  jDracticable.  In 
the  present  case,  this  course  was  adopted  by  him  most  success- 
fully. On  the  origmal  Hetton  line,  there  were  five  self-acting 
inclines — the  full  wagons  drawing  the  empty  ones  up — and  two 
inclines  worked  by  fixed  reciprocating  engines  of  sixty-horse 
power  each.  The  locomotive  traveling  engine,  or  "the  iron- 
horse,"  as  the  people  of  the  neighborhood  then  styled  it,  did  the 
rest.  On  the  day  of  the  opening  of  the  Hetton  Railway,  the 
18th  of  November,  1822,  crowds  of  spectators  assembled  from 
all  parts  to  witness  the  first  operations  of  this  ingenious  and 
powerful  machinery,  which  was  entirely  successful.  On  that 
day,  five  of  Stephenson's  locomotives  were  at  work  upon  the 
railway,  under  the  direction  of  his  brother  Robert ;  and  the  first 
shipment  of  coal  was  then  made  by  the  Hetton  Company,  at  their 
new  staiths  on  the  Wear.  The  speed  at  wliich  the  locomotives 
traveled  was  about  four  miles  an  hour,  and  each  engine  dragged 
after  it  a  train  of  seventeen  wagons,  weighing  about  sixty-four 
tons. 

Thus  another  important  practical  step  was  effected  towards 
the  more  general  adoption  of  the  railway  system. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

FIRST  SURVEY  OF  THE  LIVERPOOL  AND  MANCHESTER  RAILWAY. 

Mr.  James's  business  as  a  land-agent  led  liim  into  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Liverpool  in  the  year  1821.  The  formation  of  a 
tramroad  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester  was  at  that  time 
the  subject  of  some  speculation  in  both  toAvns,  but  especially  at 
Liverpool.  ]Mr.  James,  who  was  quick  to  hear  of  all  such  pro- 
jects, went  over  to  Liverpool  to  have  an  interview  with  the  pro- 
moters. Day  by  day  the  necessity  was  becoming  more  urgent  for 
some  improved  mode  of  transporting  goods  inland  to  the  manufac- 
turing districts.  The  rapidity  of  increase  in  the  trade,  between 
Liverpool  and  Manchester  especially,  was  something  marvelous. 
In  nine  years,  the  quantity  of  raw  cotton  sent  from  one  town  to 
the  other  had  increased  by  50,000,000  pounds  weight ;  and  all 
other  raw  materials  had  increased  in  proportion.  Around  Man- 
chester, hamlets  had  expanded  into  towns,  and  towns  had  as- 
sumed the  dimensions  of  cities,  the  inhabitants  of  which  were  for 
the  most  part  dependent  for  their  means  of  subsistence  upon  the 
regularity  of  the  supply  of  cotton  from  Liverpool.  Up  to  this 
time  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater's  Canal  and  the  Irwell  and  Mer- 
sey navigation  had  principally  supplied  the  means  of  transport ; 
but  the  enormously  increasing  demands  of  the  trade  outstripped 
their  tardy  efforts.  Possessing  a  monopoly  of  the  traffic,  and 
having  no  rivals  to  fear,  the  canal  managers  were  most  dictatorial 

in  the  treatment  of  their  customers.      Perhaps,  however,  the 

(164) 


A    TRAMROAD    PROJECTED.  165 

canal  comijanles  did  all  that  could  be  done  under  the  circum- 
stances, and  had  already  fully  taxed  the  resources  of  the  naviga- 
tion. The  immense  mass  of  goods  to  be  conveyed  had  simply 
outgrown  all  their  a2ipliances  of  wharves,  boats  and  horses. 
Cotton  lay  at  Liverpool  for  weeks  together,  waiting  to  be  re- 
moved ;  and  it  occupied  a  longer  time  to  transport  the  cargoes 
from  Liverpool  to  Manchester  than  it  had  done  to  bring  them 
across  the  Atlantic  from  the  United  States  to  England.  Carts 
and  wagons  were  tried ;  but  these  proved  altogether  insufficient. 
Sometimes  manufacturing  operations  had  to  be  suspended  alto- 
gether ;  and  durmg  a  frost,  when  the  canals  were  frozen  up,  the 
communication  was  entirely  stopped.  The  consequences  were 
often  disastrous,  alike  to  operatives,  merchants  and  manufactur- 
ers. The  same  difficulty  was  experienced  in  the  conveyance  of 
manufactured  goods  from  Manchester  to  Liverpool  for  export. 
Mr.  Huskisson,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  referring  to  these 
ruinous  delays,  truly  observed  that  "cotton  was  detained  a  fort- 
night at  Liverpool,  while  the  Manchester  manufacturers  were 
obliged  to  suspend  their  labors,  and  goods  manufactured  at  Man- 
chester, for  foreign  markets,  could  not  be  transmitted  in  time,  in 
consequence  of  the  tardy  conveyance." 

The  Liverpool  merchants  and  the  Manchester  manufacturers 
were  therefore  prepared  to  welcome  any  new  mode  of  transit 
which  would  relieve  them  of  the  losses  arising  from  these  con- 
stant interruptions  to  their  commercial  operations.  The  scheme 
of  a  tramroad  was,  however,  so  new  to  them,  that  it  is  not  sur- 
prising they  should  have  hesitated  before  committing  themselves 
fiilly  to  it.  Mr.  Sandars,  an  influential  Liverpool  merchant,  was 
amongst  the  first  to  broach  the  subject  of  a  tramroad  or  railway. 
He  himself  had  suffered  in  his  business,  in  common  with  many 
other  merchants,  from  the  insufficiency  of  the  existing  modes  of 
communication,  and  was  ready  to  give  due  consideration  to  any 
plan  presenting  elements  of  practical  efficiency,  which  proposed 
a  remedy  for  the  generally  admitted  grievance.     The  first  idea 


166  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

•was  a  tramroad,  to  be  worked  by  horses,  though  this  gradually 
gave  way  to  a  larger  and  more  efficient  plan.  Mr.  James  met 
INIi-.  Sandars  frequently  to  discuss  the  subject ;  and  about  the 
month  of  June,  1821,  a  party,  consisting  of  Mr.  Sandars,  Mr. 
James,  IMr.  Francis  Giles  and  ]\Ii-.  Padley,  (Mr.  James's  brother- 
in-law,  a  sui-yeyor,)  went  out  and  inspected  the  ground  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Liverpool,  in  order  to  ascertain  at  what  point  a 
tramroad  could  be  best  brought  into  the  town.  They  first  exam- 
ined the  land  about  Easton  Hill  with  tliis  object.  Mr.  James 
then  intrusted  his  brother-in-law  (Padley)  to  proceed  with  a  trial 
survey.  Robert  Stephenson  came  over  from  Newcastle  to  assist 
him,  and  at  the  same  time  to  obtain  some  experience  in  railway 
leveling. 

The  people  in  the  neighborhood  of  Easton  HiU  observing  the 
extraordinary  proceedings  going  on  with  chains  and  theodolite, 
having  also  heard  the  rumor  which  was  now  abroad,  and  fearinor 
that  their  farms  and  gai'dens  would  be  damaged  by  the  intended 
tramroad,  rose  against  the  surveyors,  and  compelled  them  to  de- 
sist. IMr.  Padley's  assistant  was  apprehended,  forcibly  dragged 
off  the  ground,  and  was  only  liberated  on  giving  his  solemn 
promise  never  to  return  there  on  a  similar  business.  Finding  it 
impossible  to  proceed  with  any  survey  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Liverpool,  in  consequence  of  this  opposition  on  the  jiart  of.  the 
inhabitants,  Mr.  Sandars  suggested  that  the  party  should  proceed 
to  Prescot,  and  make  a  trial  survey  there.  He  was  under  the 
impression  that  the  Mersey  might  be  connected  by  tramway  with 
Manchester  without  at  all  touching  the  town  of  Liverpool ;  and 
the  surveyors  w^ere  directed  to  ascertain  by  the  levels  whether 
this  could  be  done.  Li  order  to  carry  out  this  survey  in  a  proper 
manner,  he  and  JMi".  Moss  guaranteed  to  pay  IMr.  James,  who 
was  to  superintend  it,  at  the  rate  of  10/.  a  mile,  or  about  300/. 
for  the  entire  survey  between  the  Mersey  and  Manchestei. 
They  proceeded  accordingly  with  the  survey  near  Prescot,  meet- 
ing with   great  opposition   from  the   land-owners  and   farmers 


TKAMROAD    SURVEY.  167 

along  the  proposed  line  of  road,  who  di'ove  them  off  their 
grounds,  and  subjected  them  to  all  manner  of  insults. 

The  next  surveying  station  was  at  Newton-in-the- Willows, 
where  the  surveyors  took  a  temporary  oflice  in  the  Horse  and 
Jockey  public-house.  While  they  were  proceeding  with  their 
survey  at  this  place,  Mr.  Legh,  of  Legh  Park,  a  large  land- 
owner, made  himself  acquainted  with  their  proceedings.  He 
was  the  first  land-owner  of  the  neighborhood  who  declared  him- 
self favorable  to  the  promotion  of  a  tramroad,  or  who  gave  the 
projectors  the  slightest  encouragement  to  proceed.  All  the  rest 
were  indifferent  or  hostile.  Justice  Bourne  ordered  his  men  to 
be  constantly  on  the  Avatch  to  turn  back  the  surveyors  wherever 
met  with  in  the  fields.  The  farmers  and  laborers  were  only  too 
ready  to  follow  up  his  instructions.  Men  were  stationed  at  the 
field  gates  with  pitchforks,  and  sometimes  with  guns,  to  drive 
them  back.  At  St.  Helen's,  one  of  the  chainmen  was  laid  hold 
of  by  a  mob  of  colliers,  and  threatened  to  be  hurled  down  a  coal- 
pit. A  number  of  men,  women  and  children,  collected  and  ran 
after  the  surveyors  wherever  they  made  their  appearance,  bawl- 
ino;  nicknames  and  throwing  stones  at  them.  As  one  of  the  chain- 
men  was  climbing  over  a  gate  one  day,  a  laborer  made  at  him 
with  a  pitchfork,  and  ran  it  through  his  clothes  into  his  back ; 
other  watchers  running  up,  the  chainman,  who  was  more  stunned 
than  hurt,  took  to  his  heels  and  fled.  But  the  theodolite  most 
excited  the  fury  of  the  natives,  who  concentrated  on  the  man 
who  carried  it,  their  fiercest  execrations  and  their  most  offensive 
nicknames. 

A  powerful  fellow,  a  noted  bruiser,  was  hired  by  the  surveyors 
to  carry  the  instrument,  with  a  view  to  its  protection  against  all 
assailants ;  but  one  day  an  equally  powerful  fellow,  a  St.  Helen's 
collier,  who  was  the  cock  of  the  walk  in  his  neighborhood,  made 
up  to  the  theodolite  can'ier  to  wrest  it  from  him  by  sheer  force. 
A  battle  took  place,  the  collier  was  soundly  pummeled,  the  na- 


168  LIFE  OF    GEORGE   STEPHEXSOX. 

fives  poured  in  volleys  of  stones  upon  the  surveyors  and  their 
instruments,  and  the  theodolite  was  smashed  to  pieces. 

It  may  readily  be  conceived  that  a  survey  made  in  the  face  of 
such  opposition  would  necessarily  be  very  incomplete ;  but  the 
surveyors  did  their  best,  and  when  they  found  they  could  proceed 
no  further  at  St.  Helen's,  they  proceeded  round  Chat  Moss  to 
Hiliffe  to  try  the  ground  there.  Their  proceedings  at  that  place 
excited  the  same  degree  of  surprise  amongst  the  villagers,  who 
turned  out  in  a  body  to  watch  them,  and  appeared  perfectly 
be^dldered.  The  Moss  was  so  soft,  in  consequence  of  the  wet- 
ness of  the  season,  that  it  was  impossible  to  enter  upon  it ;  and 
the  party  very  shortly  retraced  their  steps,  and  stationed  them- 
selves for  a  short  time  at  the  Three  Swans,  at  Eardley.  There 
they  began  an  intermediate  sui'vey  of  a  branch  tramroad  be- 
tween St.  Helen's  and  the  Mersey ;  and  after  about  a  month's 
labor,  when  the  wet  weather  set  in,  the  survey  was  suspended 
until  the  following  spring. 

In  the  meantime  public  meetings  had  been  got  up  by  Mr. 
Sandars  in  several  of  the  principal  towns  of  the  district,  on  the 
subject  of  the  proposed  tramway.  One  was  held  in  the  Ex- 
change at  Liverpool,  and  another  in  the  George  Hotel,  "Warring- 
ton, at  which  ^Mi".  Sandars,  JMr.  Moss  and  Mr.  James  appeared  as 
the  advocates  of  the  measure,  which,  however,  did  not  as  yet 
meet  with  any  degree  of  general  support.  But  the  subject  was 
thus  brought  prominently  under  notice,  and  only  wanted  time 
to  enable  it  to  work  its  way  into  public  estimation. 

About  the  middle  of  the  year  1821,  Mr.  James,  having  heard 
of  Stephenson's  engines,  which  were  reported  to  him  as  being 
more  efficient  than  any  locomotives  that  had  yet  been  constructed, 
determined  to  go  down  to  Killingworth  to  inspect  them  in  person. 
He  was  not  so  fortunate  as  to  meet  Mr.  Stephenson  on  that  occa- 
sion ;  but  he  examined  his  locomotive  at  work,  and  was  very 
much  struck  by  its  power  and  efficiency.  He  saw  at  a  glance  the 
magnificent  uses  to  which  it  might  be  applied.     '■  Here,"  said  he, 


MR.    JAMES    VISITS    KILLINQWORTH.  169 

"is  an  engine  that  will,  before  long,  effect  a  complete  revolution 
in  society."  Returning  to  Moreton-in-the-Marsli,  he  wrote  to 
Mr.  Losh,  (Stephenson's  partner  in  the  patent,)  expressing  his 
admiration  of  the  Killingworth  engine.  "It  is,"  said  he,  "the 
greatest  wonder  of  the  age,  and  the  forerunner,  as  I  firmly  be- 
lieve, of  the  most  important  changes  in  the  internal  communica- 
tions of  the  kingdom."  Mr.  Losh  invited  him  again  to  visit  Kil- 
lingworth, for  the  purpose  of  having  an  interview  with  Mr. 
Stephenson  on  the  subject  of  the  locomotive.  Accordingly,  in 
September  of  the  same  year,  accompanied  by  his  two  sons,  he 
met  Mr.  Losh  at  Newcastle  ;  they  proceeded  together  to  Killing- 
worth,  where  Mr.  Stephenson  met  them ;  and  taking  them  to 
where  the  locomotive  was  working,  he  invited  them  to  mount. 
The  uncouth  and  extraordinary  appearance  of  the  machine,  as  it 
came  snorting  along,  was  somewhat  alarming  to  the  youths,  who 
expressed  their  fears  lest  it  should  burst ;  and  they  were  with 
some  difficulty  induced  to  mount. 

The  locomotive  went  through  its  usual  performances,  dragging 
a  heavy  load  of  coal  wagons  at  about  six  miles  an  hour  with  ap- 
parent ease,  at  which  Mi-.  James  expressed  his  extreme  satis- 
faction, and  declared  to  Mr.  Losh  his  opinion  that  Stephenson 
"was  the  greatest  practical  genius  of  the  age,"  and  that  "if  he 
developed  the  full  powers  of  that  engine,  (the  locomotive,)  his 
fame  in  the  world  would  rank  equal  to  that  of  Watt."  Mr. 
James,  who  had  long  been  an  advocate  of  the  locomotive  sys- 
tem, was  confirmed  in  his  views  by  the  performances  of  the  Kil- 
lingworth engine ;  and  informing  Stephenson  and  Losh  of  the 
survey  of  the  proposed  tramroad  between  Livei-pool  and  Man- 
chester, upon  which  he  had  been  engaged,  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
state  that  he  would  henceforward  advocate  the  adoption  of  a  loco- 
motive railroad  instead  of  the  tramroad  which  had  originally 
been  proposed. 

As  ]\Ir.  James's  influence  amongst  persons  of  influence  was 
considerable,  and  he  was  paiticulai'ly  identified  with  the  more 


170  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

important  railway  projects  of  the  clay,  Steplienson  and  Losli 
were  naturally  desirous  of  enlisting  his  good  services  on  behalf 
of  their  patent  locomotive.  As  yet  it  had  proved  comparatively 
unproductive.  The  Iletton  Railway  was  the  only  line,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  Killingworth,  on  which  they  had  then  a  prospect  of 
getting  their  engines  inti'oduced.  Although  Stephenson  had  vir- 
tually solved  the  problem  of  the  locomotive,  and  demonstrated 
its  profitable  employment  as  a  tractive  power  on  railroads,  neither 
he  nor  ]\Ii\  Losh  were  able  to  write  up  and  advocate  the  inven- 
tion so  as  to  insure  its  more  extensive  adoption.  This  they  be- 
lieved Mr.  James  might  be  able  effectually  to  do  for  them.  AVith 
this  object  they  proposed  to  give  him  an  interest  in  their  patent, 
in  exchange  for  his  services  in  this  way ;  and  accordingly,  by  a 
deed,  dated  1st  September,  1821,  they  assigned  to  Mr.  James 
one  fourth  of  the  profits  which  might  be  derived  from  the  use  of 
their  patent  locomotive  for  railroads  on  any  line  which  might  be 
constructed  south  of  a  line  drawn  across  England  from  Liverpool 
to  Hull,  the  deed  setting  forth  that  this  assignment  of  profits  was 
made  in  consideration  of  Mr.  James  giving  "his  recommendation 
and  best  assistance"  towards  the  use  of  the  patent  locomotive  on 
all  such  railways. 

Mr.  James's  first  recommendation  did  not  prove  successful. 
He  endeavored  to  introduce  the  locomotive  upon  the  Moreton- 
on-jNIarsh  Railway ;  but  Mr.  Rastrick,  who  was  the  engineer  of 
the  line,  was  so  much  opposed  to  its  use  that  Mr.  James  failed 
in  carrying  his  point,  and  he  consequently  gave  up  all  further 
connection  wath  that  company.  In  the  following  year  (1822)  he 
wrote  to  Mr.  Losh  from  Boswell  Court,  as  to  a  locomotive  which 
he  wished  to  get  from  Mr.  Stephenson  for  the  working  of  the 
Croydon  and  Merstham  Railroad,  but  against  which  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson had  dissuaded  him,  as  the  cast-iron  plates  were  not  cal- 
culated to  bear  the  weight  of  the  engine,  and  the  result  could 
only  bring  the  locomotive  into  disrepute.  Mr.  James  was,  how- 
ever, very  anxious  to  have  the  engine  introduced  on  some  rail- 


SUKVEY    CONTINUED.  171 

way  in  the  south  of  England.  "I  can  appreciate,"  he  said,  "IMr. 
Stephenson's  objections  to  use  his  engine  on  this  defective  road ; 
but  years  will  elapse,  and  the  patent  may  expire,  before  we  can 
get  a  new  road  in  the  south  for  his  engine  if  this  plan  is  not  em- 
braced." Mr.  James  at  the  same  time  intimated  that  he  was 
busy  with  the  plans  and  sections  of  the  Liverpool  line,  which 
would  furnish  a  proper  opportunity  for  the  introduction  of  the 
engine  "for  the  conveyance  of  passengers  and  light  goods  with 
the  utmost  dispatch"  between  that  town  and  Manchester.  By 
the  following  year,  he  added,  he  hoped  to  have  four  bills  before 
Parliament  for  railroads  150  miles  in  length,  the  surveys  of 
which  were  completed. 

The  survey  of  the  Liverpool  and  INIanchester  line  was  pro- 
ceeded with  early  in  1822,  Mr.  Padley  conducting  the  work 
under  the  superintendence  of  Mi-.  Francis  Giles.  The  people  of 
the  locality  still  offered  every  possible  resistance  to  their  pro- 
ceedings ;  and  the  surveyors  were,  on  several  occasions,  driven 
off  the  ground  by  force.  They  were  under  the  necessity  of  pro- 
ceeding Avith  their  work  in  the  early  dawn,  before  the  inhabitants 
were  astir.  Chat  Moss  was  surveyed  by  placing  hurdles  on  the 
bog ;  and  thus,  with  great  difficulty,  a  very  imperfect  survey  of 
the  proposed  line  was  at  length  effected. 

Mv.  James,  however,  failed  to  produce  the  plans  and  estimates 
for  the  session  of  1823 ;  but  he  sent  in  to  the  promoters  of  the 
line  his  preliminary  report  on  the  survey  of  investigation,  in 
which  he  stated  "  that  from  their  commencement  the  works  may 
be  completed  in  eighteen  months,  on  a  capital  not  exceeding 
100,000/.,  but  the  parliamentary  survey  and  estimates  will  state 
the  sums  at  which  contractors  will  be  found  to  execute  the  work." 
Mr.  James  was  repeatedly  pressed  to  supply  the  necessary  plans 
and  estimates ;  but  though  he  made  many  promises,  he  failed  to 
perform  any  of  them.  And  thus  the  parhamentary  session  of 
1824  was  also  lost. 

Indeed,  the  tune  seems  to  have  been  not  yet  fully  come  for 


172  LIFE   OF    GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

the  adoption  of  the  railway.  The  projectors  found  that  the  line, 
as  laid  out,  would  provoke  a  powerful  opposition  in  Parliament ; 
and  the  local  support  which  they  had  received  was  not  such  as 
to  justify  them  in  proceeding  in  the  face  of  such  opposition. 
The  project  therefore  slept  for  a  time,  but  it  was  not  lost  sight 
of.  Mr.  Sandars  continued  to  agitate  the  question,  and  he  shortly 
found  the  number  of  his  supporters  was  such  as  to  enable  him 
again  to  take  the  field  with  a  better  prospect  of  success. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

MR.   STEPHENSON  APPOINTED   ENGINEER  OF  TILE  STOCKTON  AND 
DARLINGTON  RAILWAY. 

Some  time  elapsed  after  the  passing  of  the  Act  authorizing 
the  construction  of  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Raihvay,  before 
anj  active  steps  were  taken  to  carry  it  into  effect.  Doubts  had 
been  raised  whether  the  line  was  the  best  that  could  be  adopted 
for  the  district ;  and  the  subscribers  generally  were  not  so  san- 
guine about  their  undertaking  as  to  induce  them  to  press  on  the 
formation  of  the  railway. 

One  day,  about  the  end  of  the  year  1821,  two  strangers 
knocked  at  the  door  of  ]Mi\  Pease's  house  in  Darlington ;  and 
the  message  was  brought  to  him  that  some  persons  from  Killing- 
worth  wanted  to  speak  with  him.  They  wei-e  invited  in,  on 
which  one  of  the  visitors  introduced  himself  as  Nicholas  Wood, 
viewer  at  Killingworth,  and  then,  turnmg  to  his  companion,  he 
introduced  him  to  Mr.  Pease  as  George  Stephenson,  of  the 
same  place.  Mr.  Stephenson  came  forward  and  handed  to  Mr. 
Pease  a  letter  from  ISIr.  Lambert,  the  manager  at  Killingworth, 
in  which  it  was  stated  that  the  bearer  was  the  engine-wright  at 
the  pits,  that  he  had  had  experience  in  the  laying  out  of  rail- 
ways and  had  given  satisfaction  to  his  employers,  and  that  he 
would  therefore  recommend  him  to  the  notice  of  'Mr.  Pease  if 
he  stood  in  need  of  the  services  of  such  a  person. 

Mr.  Pease  entered  into  conversation  with  hi^  visitors,  and  soon 

(173) 


174  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

ascertained  the  object  of  their  errand.  Steplienson  had  heard 
of  the  passing  of  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Act,  and  desiring 
to  increase  his  railway  experience,  and  also  to  employ  in  some 
larger  field  the  pi-actical  knowledge  he  had  already  gained,  he 
determined  to  visit  JVIr.  Pease,  the  known  projector  of  the  under- 
taking, with  the  view  of  being  employed  to  carry  it  out.  He 
had  brought  with  him  his  friend  Nicholas  Wood,  for  the  purpose 
at  the  same  time  of  relieving  his  diffidence  and  supporting  his 
application. 

]VIr.  Pease  liked  the  appearance  of  his  visitors.  "  There  was," 
as  he  afterwards  remarked  in  speaking  of  Stephenson,  "such  an 
honest,  sensible  look  about  him,  and  he  seemed  so  modest  and 
unpretending.  He  spoke  in  the  strong  Northumbrian  dialect  of 
his  district,  and  described  himself  as  'only  the  engine- wright  at 
KiUingworth  ;  that's  what  he  was.' " 

Mr.  Pease  very  soon  saw  that  his  visitor  was  the  man  for  his 
purpose.  The  whole  plans  of  the  railway  being  still  in  an  unde- 
termined state,  IMi-.  Pease  was  glad  to  have  the  opportunity 
of  gathering  from  Mr.  Stephenson  the  results  of  his  experience. 
The  latter  strongly  recommended  a  railway  in  preference  to  a 
tramroad,  in  which  JMr.  Pease  was  disposed  to  concur  with  him. 
The  conversation  next  turned  on  the  tractive  power  which  the 
company  intended  to  employ,  and  Mr.  Pease  said  that  they  had 
based  their  whole  calculations  on  the  employment  of  horse  power. 
"I  was  so  satisfied,"  said  he  afterwards,  "that  a  horse  upon  an 
iron  road  would  draw  ten  tons  for  one  ton  on  a  common  road, 
that  I  felt  sure  that  before  long  the  railway  would  become  the 
King's  Highway." 

But  Mr.  Pease  was  scarcely  prepared  for  the  bold  assertion 
made  by  his  visitor,  that  the  locomotive  engine  with  which  he 
had  been  working  the  KilUng worth  Railway  for  many  years 
past,  was  worth  fifty  horses,  and  that  engines  made  after  a  sim- 
ilar plan  would  yet  entirely  supersede  all  horse  power  upon  rail- 
roads.    ]VIi\  Stephenson  was  daily  becoming  more  positive  as  to 


VISIT   TO   MR.    PEASE.  175 

the  superiority  of  his  locomotive ;  and  on  this,  as  on  all  subse- 
quent occasions,  he  strongly  urged  Mr.  Pease  to  adopt  it. 
"Come  over  to  Killingworth,"  said  he,  "and  see  Avhat  my 
Blutcher  can  do ;  seeing  is  believing,  sir."  And  Mr.  Pease 
promised  that  on  some  early  day  he  would  go  over  to  Killing- 
worth  with  his  friend  Thomas  Richardson,  and  take  a  look  at 
this  wonderful  machine  that  was  to  supersede  horses. 

On  Mr.  Pease  referring  to  the  difficulties  and  the  opposition 
which  the  projectors  of  the  railway  had  had  to  encounter,  and 
the  obstacles  which  still  lay  in  their  way,  Stepheiison  said  to 
him,  "I  think,  sir,  I  have  some  knowledge  of  craniology,  and 
from  what  I  see  of  your  head,  I  feel  sure  that  if  you  will  fairly 
buckle  to  this  railway,  you  are  the  man  successfully  to  carry  it 
through."  "I  think  so  too,"  rejoined  Mr.  Pease;  "and  I  may 
observe  to  thee,  that  if  thou  succeed  in  making  this  a  good  rail- 
way, thou  may  consider  thy  fortune  as  good  as  made."  He 
added  that  all  they  Avould  require  at  present  was  an  estimate  of 
the  cost  of  resurveying  the  line,  with  the  direction  of  which  the 
company  was  not  quite  satisfied ;  and  as  they  had  already  paid 
away  several  hundred  pounds,  and  found  themselves  very  little 
advanced,  Mr.  Pease  asked  that  this  new  survey  should  be  done 
at  as  little  expense  as  possible.  This  Stephenson  readily  assented 
to  ;  and  after  Mr.  Pease  had  pledged  himself  to  bring  his  appli- 
cation for  the  appointment  of  engineer  before  the  Directors  on 
an  early  day,  and  to  support  it  with  his  influence,  the  two  visitors 
prepared  to  take  their  leave,  informing  Mr.  Pease  that  they  in- 
tended to  return  as  they  had  come,  "by  nip ;"  that  is,  they  would 
obtain  a  sort  of  smuggled  lift  on  the  stage  coach,  by  tipping  Jehu 
—  for  in  those  days  the  stage  coachmen  were  wont  to  regai'd  all 
casual  roadside  passengers  as  their  special  perquisite.  And  thus 
the  two  contrived  io  make  a  cheap  journey  of  it  between  Dai'- 
lington  and  Killingworth. 

Mr.  Pease  having  made  further  inquiries  respecting  the  char- 
acter and  qualifications  of  George  Stephenson,  and  having  re- 


176  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

ceived,  from  John  Grimshaw — also  a  Friend,  the  inventor  of 
endless  spinning — a  very  strong  recommendation  of  him  as  the 
right  man  for  the  intended  work,  he  brought  the  subject  of  his  ap- 
plication before  the  directors  of  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Com- 
pany. They  resolved  to  adopt  his  recommendation  that  a  rail- 
way be  formed  instead  of  a  tramroad ;  and  they  further  requested 
Mr.  Pease  to  write  to  ]VIr.  Stephenson,  which  he  accordingly  did, 
requesting  him  to  report  as  to  the  practicability,  or  otherwise,  of 
the  line  as  laid  out  by  IVIr.  Overton,  and  to  state  his  recommend- 
ations as  to  any  deviations  or  improvements  in  its  course,  to- 
gether with  estimates  of  comparative  expenses.  "In  short,"  said 
Mr.  Pease,  "we  wish  thee  to  proceed  in  all  thy  levels,  estimates 
and  calculations,  with  that  care  and  economy  which  would  influ- 
ence thee  if  the  whole  of  the  work  were  thy  own." 

Mr.  Stephenson  replied  (August  2d,  1821)  that  the  reeurvey  of 
the  line  would  occupy  at  'least  four  weeks,  and  that  his  charge 
would  include  all  necessary  assistance  for  the  accomplishment 
of  the  survey,  estimates  of  the  expense  of  cuts  and  batteries 
(since  called  cuttings  and  embankments)  on  the  different  pro- 
jected lines,  together  with  all  remarks,  reports,  etc.,  on  the  same; 
also  the  comparative  cost  of  malleable  and  cast-iron  rails,  laying 
the  same,  winning  and  preparing  the  blocks  of  stone,  and  all 
other  materials  wanted  to  complete  the  line.  "I  could  not  do 
this,"  said  he,  "for  less  than  140/.,  allowing  me  to  be  moderately 
paid.  Such  a  survey  would  of  course  have  to  be  made  before 
the  work  could  be  begun,  as  it  is  impossible  to  form  any  idea  of 
contracting  for  the  cuts  and  batteries  by  the  former  one ;  and  I 
assure  you  I  shall,  in  completing  the  undertaking,  act  with  that 
economy  which  would  influence  me  if  the  whole  of  the  work  was 
my  own." 

About  the  end  of  September  INIr.  Stephenson  went  over  the 
line  of  the  proposed  railway,  for  the  purpose  of  suggesting  such 
improvements  and  deviations  as  he  might  consider  desirable. 
He  went  over  every  foot  of  the  ground  himself,  accompanied  by 


LAYING    THE    FIRST    RAIL.  177 

an  assistant  and  a  chaiuman — his  son  Robert,  who  had  recently 
returned  from  college,  entering  the  figures  while  his  father  took 
the  sights.  After  being  engaged  in  the  work  at  intervals  for 
about  six  weeks,  Mr.  Stephenson  reported  the  result  of  his  sur- 
vey to  the  Board  of  Directors,  and  showed  that  by  certain  de- 
viations, a  line  shorter  by  about  three  miles  might  be  constructed 
at  a  considerable  saving  in  expense,  while  at  the  same  time 
more  favorable  gradients — an  important  consideration — would 
be  secured. 

The  directors  of  the  company,  being  satisfied  that  the  improve- 
ments suggested  in  the  line,  and  the  saving  which  would  thus  be 
effected  in  mileage  and  in  money,  fully  warranted  them  in  in- 
curring the  trouble,  delay  and  expense  of  making  a  further  appli- 
cation to  Parliament  for  an  amended  Act,  took  the  requisite  steps 
with  this  object.  And  in  the  meantime  they  directed  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson to  prepare  the  specifications  for  the  rails  and  chairs,  and 
make  arrangements  to  enter  into  contracts  for  the  supply  of  the 
stone  and  wooden  blocks  on  which  the  rails  and  chairs  were  to 
be  laid.  It  was  determined  in  the  first  place  to  proceed  with  the 
works  at  those  parts  of  the  line  where  no  de\aation  was  proposed ; 
and  the  first  rail  of  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway  was 
laid  with  considerable  ceremony,  by  Thomas  Meynell,  Esq.,  of 
Yarm,  at  a  point  near  St.  John's  Well,  Stockton,  on  the  23d  of 
May,  1822. 

It  is  worthy  of  note,  that  Mr.  Stephenson,  in  making  his  first 
estimate  of  the  cost  of  forming  the  railway,  according  to  the  in- 
structions of  the  directoi's,  set  down,  as  part  of  the  cost,  6,200/., 
for  stationary  engines,  not  mentioning  locomotives  at  all.  The 
directors  as  yet  confined  their  views  to  the  employment  only  of 
horses  for  the  haulage  of  the  coals,  and  of  fixed  engines  and 
ropes  where  horse  power  was  not  applicable.  The  whole  ques- 
tion of  steam  locomotive  power  was,  in  the  estimation  of  the 
public,  as  well  as  of  practical  and  scientific  men,  as  yet  in  doubt. 

The  confident  anticipations  of  Mr.  Stephenson,  as  to  the  eventual 
"19 


178  LIFE  or  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

success  of  locomotive  engines,  were  regarded  as  mere  specula- 
tions ;  and  when  he  gave  utterance  to  his  views,  as  he  frequently 
took  the  opportunity  of  doing,  it  had  the  effect  of  shaking  the 
confidence  of  some  of  liis  friends  in  the  solidity  of  his  judgment 
and  his  practical  qualities  as  an  engineer. 

When  Mr.  Pease  discussed  the  question  with  Stephenson,  his 
remark  was,  "  Come  over  and  see  my  engines  at  Killingworth, 
and  satisfy  yourself  as  to  the  efficiency  of  the  locomotive.  I  will 
show  you  the  colliery  books,  that  you  may  ascertain  for  yourself 
the  actual  cost  of  working.  And  I  must  tell  you  that  the  econ- 
omy of  the  locomotive  engine  is  no  longer  a  matter  of  theory,  but 
a  matter  of  fact."  So  confident  was  the  tone  in  which  Stephen- 
son spoke  of  the  success  of  his  engines,  and  so  important  were 
the  consequences  involved  in  arriving  at  a  coi-rect  conclusion  on 
the  subject,  that  Mr.  Pease  at  length  resolved  upon  paying  a  visit 
to  Killingworth ;  and  accordingly  he  proceeded  thither,  in  com- 
l)any  with  his  friend  ]Mr.  Thomas  Richardson,*  a  considerable 
subscriber  to  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  project,  in  the  summer 
of  1822. 

When  Sir.  Pease  arrived  at  Killingworth  village,  he  inquired 
for  George  Stephenson,  and  was  told  that  he  must  go  over  to  the 
West  Moor,  and  seek  for  a  cottage  by  the  roadside,  with  a  dial 
over  the  door — that  was  where  George  Stephenson  lived.  They 
soon  found  the  house  with  the  dial ;  and  on  knocking,  the  door 
was  opened  by  Mrs.  Stephenson — his  second  wife,  (EHzabeth 
Hindmarsh,)  the  daughter  of  a  farmer  at  Black  Callerton,  whom 
he  had  married  in  1819.  Her  husband,  she  said,  was  not  in  the 
house  at  present,  but  she  would  send  for  him  to  the  colliery. 
And  in  a  short  time  Stephenson  appeared  before  them  in  his 
working  dress,  just  out  of  the  pit. 

He  very  soon  had  his  locomotive  brought  up  to  the  crossing 
close  by  the  end  of  the  cottage — made  the  gentlemen  mount  it, 

*  Mr.  Richardaon  Tvas  the  founder  of  the  celebrated  discount  house  of  Richardson, 
Overend  and  Uourney,  in  Lombard  Street 


AVORKS    PROCEEDED    WITH.  179 

and  showed  them  its  paces.  Harnessing  it  to  a  train  of  loaded 
wagons,  he  ran  it  along  the  railroad,  and  so  thoroughly  satisfied 
his  visitors  of  its  powers  and  capabilities,  that  from  that  day  Ed- 
ward Pease  was  a  declared  supporter  of  the  locomotive  engine. 
In  preparing,  in  1823,  the  Amended  Stockton  and  Darlington 
Act,  at  Mr.  Stephenson's  urgent  request,  Mr.  Pease  had  a  clause 
inserted,  taking  power  to  work  the  railway  by  means  of  locomo- 
tive engines,  and  to  canploy  them  for  the  haulage  of  passengers 
as  well  as  of  merchandise  ;*  and  Mr.  Pease  gave  a  further  and 
still  stronger  proof  of  his  conviction  as  to  the  practical  value  of 
the  locomotive,  by  entering  into  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Stephen- 
son, in  the  following  year,  for  the  establishment  of  a  locomotive 
foundry  and  manufactory  in  the  town  of  Newcastle — the  north- 
ern centre  of  the  Enghsh  railroad  system. 

The  second  Stockton  and  Darlington  Act  was  obtained  in  the 
session  of  1823,  not,  however,  without  opposition,  the  Duke  of 
Cleveland  and  the  road  trustees  still  appearing  as  the  determined 
opponents  of  the  bill.  Nevertheless,  the  measure  passed  into 
law,  and  the  works  were  now  vigorously  proceeded  with,  Mr. 
Stephenson  having  been  appointed  the  company's  engineer,  at  a 
salaiy  of  300/.  per  annum. 

*  The  first  clause  in  any  railway  act,  empowering  the  employment  of  locomotive  en- 
gines for  the  working  of  passenger  traffic. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

COMPLETION  AXD   OPENTNG  OF  THE  STOCKTON  AND  DARLINGTON 

RAILWAY. 

Mr.  Stephenson  now  proceeded  with  the  working  survey 
of  the  improved  line  of  the  Stockton  and  Darhngton  Eailway, 
laying  out  every  foot  of  the  ground  himself,  accompanied  by  his 
assistants.  Railway  surveying  w^as  as  yet  in  its  infancy,  and 
was  very  slow  and  deliberate  work.  Afterwards  it  became  a 
separate  branch  of  railway  business,  and  was  left  to  a  special 
staff  of  surveyors.  Indeed  on  no  subsequent  line  did  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson take  the  sights  through  the  spmt  level  with  his  own 
hands  and  eyes,  as  he  did  on  this  railway.  He  would  start  very 
oarly  in  the  morning,  and  survey  until  dusk.  !Mr.  John  Dixon, 
who  assisted  in  the  survey,  mentions  that  he  remembers  on  one 
occasion,  after  a  long  day's  work  near  Aycliffe,  when  the  light 
had  completely  failed  them,  the  party  separated — some  to  walk 
to  Darlington,  four  miles  off,  Mr.  Stephenson  himself  to  the  Sim- 
pasture  farmhouse,  where  he  had  arranged  to  stay  for  the  night ; 
and  his  last  stringent  injunction  was,  that  they  must  aU  be  on  the 
ground  to  resume  leveling  as  soon  as  there  was  light  enough  for 
the  purpose.  "You  must  not,"  said  he,  "set  off  from  Darlington 
by  daybreak,  for  then  we  shall  lose  an  hour ;  but  you  must  be 
here,  ready  to  begin  work  as  soon  as  it  is  daylight." 

Mr.  Stephenson  performed  the  survey  in  top  boots  and  breeches 
— a  usual  dress  at  the  time.     He  was  not  at  any  time  particular 

aso) 


TEACIIIXG    EMBROIDERY.  181 

as  to  liis  living ;  and  during  the  survey,  he  took  his  chance  of 
getting  a  drink  of  milk  and  a  bit  of  brea<l  at  some  cottager's 
house  along  the  line,  or  occasionally  joined  in  a  homely  dniner 
at  some  neighboring  farmhouse.  The  country  people  were  ac- 
customed to  give  him  a  hearty  welcome  when  he  appeared  at 
their  door;  for  he  was  always  full  of  cheery  and  homely  talk, 
and,  when  there  were  children  about  the  house,  he  had  plenty  of 
surplus  humor  for  them  as  well  as  for  their  seniors. 

After  the  day's  work  was  over,  Mr.  Stephenson  would  drop  in 
at  Mr.  Pease's,  to  talk  over  with  him  the  progress  of  the  survey, 
and  discuss  various  matters  connected  with  the  railway.  Mr. 
Pease's  daughters  were  usually  present ;  and  on  one  occasion, 
finding  the  young  ladies  learning  the  art  of  embroidery,  he  volun- 
teered to  instruct  them.  "I  know  all  about  it,"  said  he;  "and 
you  will  wonder  how  I  learnt  it.  I  will  tell  you.  "When  I  was 
a  brakesman  at  Killingworth,  I  learnt  the  art  of  embroidery 
while  working  the  pitman's  button-holes  by  the  engine  fire  at 
nights."  He  was  never  ashamed,  but  on  the  contrary  rather 
proud,  of  reminding  his  friends  of  these  humble  pursuits  of  his 
early  life.  Mr.  Pease's  family  were  greatly  pleased  with  his 
conversation,  which  was  always  amusing  and  instructive ;  full  of 
all  sorts  of  experience,  gathered  sometimes  in  the  oddest  and 
most  out-of-the-way  places.  Even  at  that  early  period,  before  he 
had  mixed  in  the  society  of  educated  persons,  there  was  a  dash 
of  speculativeness  in  his  remarks,  which  gave  a  high  degree  of 
originality  to  his  conversation ;  and  sometimes  he  would,  in  a 
casual  remark,  throw  a  flash  of  light  upon  a  subject,  which  called 
up  a  whole  train  of  pregnant  suggestions. 

One  of  the  most  important  subjects  of  discussion  at  these  meet- 
ings with  Mr.  Pease,  was  the  establishment  of  a  manufactory  at 
Newcastle  for  the  building  of  locomotive  engines.  Up  to  this 
time  all  the  locomotives  constructed  after  Mr.  Stephenson's  de- 
signs, had  been  made  by  ordinary  mechanics  working  amongst 
the  collieries  in  the  north  of  England.     But  he  had  long  felt  that 


182  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPIIEXSON. 

the  accui'acy  and  style  of  their  workmanship  admitted  of  gi-eat 
improvement,  and  that  upon  this  the  more  perfect  action  of  the 
locomotive  engine,  and  its  general  adoption  as  the  tractive  power 
on  railways,  in  a  gi-eat  measure  depended.  One  great  object 
that  he  had  in  view  in  establishing  the  proposed  factory  was,  to 
concentrate  a  number  of  good  workmen  for  the  purpose  of  carry- 
ing out  the  improvements  in  detail  which  he  was  constantly 
making  in  his  engine.  He  felt  hampered  by  the  want  of  efficient 
helpers  in  the  shape  of  skilled  mechanics,  who  could  work  out  in 
a  pi-actical  form  the  ideas  of  which  his  busy  mind  was  always  so 
prolific.  Doubtless,  too,  he  believed  that  the  locomotive  manu- 
factory would  prove  a  remunerative  investment,  and  that,  on  the 
general  adoption  of  the  railway  system,  Avhich  he  now  anticipated, 
he  would  derive  solid  advantages  from  the  fact  of  his  manufactory 
bemg  the  only  establishment  of  the  kind  for  the  special  construc- 
tion of  railway  locomotives. 

He  still  believed  in  the  eventual  success  of  railways,  though  it 
might  be  slow.  Much,  he  believed,  would  depend  upon  the  issue 
of  this  great  experiment  at  Darlington ;  and  as  Mr.  Pease  was  a 
man  on  whose  sound  judgment  he  could  rely,  he  determined  upon 
consulting  him  about  his  proposed  locomotive  factory.  JNIr.  Pease 
approved  of  his  design,  and  strongly  recommended  him  to  carry 
it  into  effect.  But  there  Avas  the  question  of  means ;  and  he  did 
not  think  he  had  capital  enough  for  the  purpose.  He  told  ISIr. 
Pease  that  he  could  advance  a  thousand  pounds — the  amount  of 
the  testimonial  presented  by  the  coal-owners  for  his  safety-lamp 
invention,  and  which  he  had  still  left  untouched  ;  but  he  did  not 
think  this  sufficient  for  the  purpose,  and  that  he  should  at  least 
require  another  thousand  pounds.  Mr.  Pease  had  been  very 
favorably  struck  by  the  successful  performances  of  the  Killing- 
worth  engine ;  and  being  an  accurate  judge  of  character,  he  was 
not  slow  to  perceive  that  he  could  not  go  far  wrong  in  linking  a 
portion  of  his  fortune  with  the  energy  and  industry  of  George 
Stephenson.     He  consulted  his  friend  Thomas  Richardson  in  the 


KIND    OF   RAILS    TO    EE    USED.  183 

matter ;  and  the  two  consented  to  advance  500/.  each  for  the  pur- 
pose of  establishing  the  engine  factory  at  Newcastle.  A  piece 
of'  land  was  accordingly  purchased  in  Forth  Street,  in  August, 
1823,  on  which  a  small  building  was  erected — the  nucleus  of  the 
gigantic  establishment  which  was  afterwards  formed  around  it ; 
and  active  operations  commenced  early  in  1S24. 

While  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway  works  were  in 
progress,  Mr.  Stephenson  held  many  interesting  discussions  Avith 
Mr.  Pease,  on  points  connected  with  its  construction  and  work- 
ing, the  determination  of  which  in  a  great  measui-e  affected  the 
formation  and  woi'king  of  all  future  railways.  The  most  import- 
ant points  were  these :  1.  The  comparative  merits  of  cast  and 
wrought-iron  rail.  2.  The  gauge  of  the  railwa3^  3.  The  em- 
ployment of  horse  or  engine  power  in  working  it  when  ready  for 
traffic. 

The  kind  of  rails  to  be  laid  down  to  form  the  permanent  road, 
was  a  matter  of  considerable  importance.  A  wooden  tramroad 
had  been  contemplated  when  the  first  Act  was  applied  for ;  but 
Stephenson  having  advised  that  an  iron  road  should  be  laid  down, 
ho  was  instructed  to  draw  up  a  specification  of  the  rails.  He 
went  before  the  directors  to  discuss  with  them  the  kind  of  rails 
which  were  to  be  specified.  He  was  himself  interested  in  the 
patent  for  cast-iron  rails,  which  he  had  taken  out  in  conjunction 
with  Mr.  Losh  in  1816;  and,  of  course,  it  was  to  his  uiterest 
that  his  articles  should  be  adopted.  But  when  requested  to  give 
his-  opinion  on  the  subject,  he  frankly  said  to  the  directors, 
"Well,  gentlemen,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  although  it  would  put 
500/.  in  my  pocket  to  specify  my  own  patent  rails,  I  cannot  do 
so  after  the  experience  I  have  had.  If  you  take  my  advice,  you 
will  not  lay  down  a  single  cast-iron  rail."  "Why?"  asked  the 
directors.  "  Because  they  will  not  stand  the  weight ;  there  is  no 
wear  in  them,  and  you  will  be  at  no  end  of  expense  for  repairs 
and  relays."  "What  kind  of  road,  then,"  he  was  asked,  "would 
you  recommend ? "     "Malleable  rails,  certainly,"  said  he;  "and 


184  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

I  can  recommend  them  with  the  more  confidence  from  the  fact 
that  at  Killingvvorth  we  have  had  some  Swedish  bars  laid  down 
—  nailed  to  wooden  sleepers — for  a  period  of  fourteen  years,  the 
wagons  passing  over  them  daily ;  and  there  they  are,  in  use  yet, 
whereas  the  cast  rails  are  constantly  giving  way. 

The  price  of  malleable  rails  was,  however,  so  high — being 
then  worth  about  12/.  per  ton — as  compared  with  cast-iron  rails 
at  about  5/.  10s.,  and  the  saving  of  expense  was  so  important  a 
consideration  with  the  subscribers  to  the  railway,  that  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson was  directed  to  provide,  in  the  specification  drawn  by 
him,  that  only  one  half  of  the  quantity  of  the  rails  required — or 
800  tons — should  be  of  malleable  iron,  the  remainder  being  of 
cast-iron.  The  malleable  rails  were  required  by  the  specification 
to  be  "made  from  scraps  or  good  English  bars  remanufactured." 
They  were  also  of  the  kind  called  '"fish-bellied,"  after  Birken- 
shaw's  patent,  and  weighed  only  281bs.  to  the  yard,  being  2^ 
inches  broad  at  the  top,  with  the  upper  flange  f  inch  thick. 
They  were  only  2  inches  in  depth  at  the  points  at  which  they 
rested  on  the  rails,  and  3j  inches  in  the  middle  or  bellied  part. 

When  forming  the  road,  the  proper  gauge  had  also  to  be  de- 
termined. What  width  was  this  to  be  ?  The  gauge  of  the  first 
tramroad  laid  down  had  virtually  settled  the  point.  The  gauge 
of  wheels  of  the  common  vehicles  of  the  country — of  the  carts 
and  wagons  employed  on  common  roads,  which  were  first  used 
on  the  tramroads — was  4  feet  8§  inches.  And  so  the  first  tram- 
roads  were  laid  down  of  this  gauge.  The  tools  and  machinery 
for  constructing  coal-wagons  and  locomotives  were  formed  with 
this  gauge  in  view.  The  Wylam  wagon-way,  afterwards  the 
"NVylam  plateway,  the  Killingworth  railroad,  and  the  Hetton  rail- 
road, were  all  laid  down  on  this  gauge.  Some  of  the  earth- 
wagons  used  to  form  the  Stockton  and  Darlincrton  road  were 
brought  from  the  Hetton  Railway ;  and  others  which  were  spe- 
cially constx'ucted   were  formed  of  the  same  dimensions,  these 


TRACTIVE    POWER.  185 

being  intended  afterwards  to  be  employed  in  the  Avorking  of  the 
tralRc. 

As  the  time  for  the  opening  of  the  line  approached,  the  ques- 
tion of  the  Tractive  Power  to  be  employed  was  warmly  discussed. 
At  the  Brusselton  incline,  fixed  engines  must  necessarily  be  made 
use  of;  and  the  designs  for  these  were  completed  by  Robert 
Stephenson  in  1824,  previous  to  his  departure  for  Columbia, 
in  South  America.  With  respect  to  the  mode  of  working  the 
railway  generally,  it  was  decided  that  horses  were  to  be  largely 
employed,  and  arrangements  were  made  for  their  purchase.  The 
influence  of  Mr.  Pease  also  secured  that  a  fair  trial  should  be 
given  to  the  experiment  of  working  the  traffic  by  locomotive 
power ;  and  three  engines  were  ordered  from  the  firm  of  George 
Stephenson  and  Company,  at  Newcastle,  and  were  accordingly 
put  in  hand  forthwith,  in  anticii:)ation  of  the  opening  of  the  rail- 
way. These  were  constructed  after  Mr.  Stephenson's  most 
matured  designs,  and  embodied  all  the  improvements  in  the  loco- 
motive which  he  had  contrived  up  to  that  time.  No.  1  engine, 
the  "Active,"  which  was  first  delivered  upon  the  Ime,  weighed 
about  eight  tons.  It  had  one  large  flue  or  tube  through  the 
boiler,  through  which  the  heated  air  passed  direct  from  the  fur- 
nace at  one  end,  lined  with  fire-bricks,  to  the  chimney  at  the 
other.  The  combustion  in  the  furnace  was  quickened  by  the 
adoption  of  the  steam-blast  into  the  chimney.  The  heat  raised 
was  sometimes  so  great,  and  was  so  imperfectly  abstracted  by  the 
surrounding  water,  that  the  chimney  became  almost  red-hot. 
These  engines,  when  put  to  the  toj)  of  their  speed,  were  found 
capable  of  running  at  the  rate  of  from  twelve  to  sixteen  miles  an 
hour ;  but  they  were  better  adapted  for  the  heavy  work  of  haul- 
ing coal  trains  at  low  speeds — for  which,  indeed,  they  were  spe- 
cially constructed — than  for  running  at  the  higher  speeds  after- 
wards adopted.  Nor  was  it  contemplated  by  the  directors  as 
possible,  at  the  time  when  they  were  ordered,  that  locomotives 
could  be  made  available  for  the  purpose  of  passenger  traveling. 


186  LIFE  OF   GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

Besides,  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway  did  not  run 
through  a  district  in  which  passengers  were  very  likely  to  con- 
stitute any  considerable  portion  of  the  traffic. 

We  may  easily  imagine  the  anxiety  felt  by  Mr.  Stephenson 
during  the  progress  of  the  works  towards  completion,  and  his 
mingled  hopes  and  doubts  (though  his  doubts  were  but  few)  as 
to  the  issue  of  this  great  experiment.  When  the  formation  of 
the  line  near  Stockton  was  well  advanced,  Mr.  Stephenson  one 
day,  accompanied  by  his  son  Robert  and  John  Dixon,  made  a 
journey  of  inspection  of  the  works.  His  son,  as  we  have  said, 
was  about  to  set  out  for  South  America,  having  received  an  ap- 
pointment to  superintend  some  mining  operations  in  Columbia, 
respecting  which  there  was  then  a  large  amount  of  speculation 
on  foot.  His  health  also  had  recently  suifered  through  the 
closeness  of  his  application  to  work  and  study ;  and  his  father, 
hoping  that  he  might  derive  benefit  from  the  change  of  climate, 
encouraged  him  to  undertake  the  charge  which  was  offered  him. 
On  the  day  in  question  the  party  reached  Stockton,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  dine  at  one  of  the  inns  there.  After  dinner,  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson ventured  on  the  very  unusual  measure  of  ordering  in  a 
oottle  of  wine,  to  drink  success  to  the  railway,  John  Dixon 
remembers  and  relates  with  pride  the  utterance  of  the  master 
on  the  occasion.  "Now  lads,"  said  he  to  the  two  young  men, 
"I  will  tell  you  that  I  think  you  wiU  live  to  see  the  day,  though 
I  may  not  live  so  long,  when  railways  will  come  to  supersede 
almost  all  other  methods  of  conveyance  in  this  country — when 
mail  coaches  will  go  by  railway,  and  railroads  will  become  the 
Great  Highway  for  the  king  and  all  his  subjects.  The  time  is 
coming  when  it  will  be  cheaper  for  a  working  man  to  travel  on 
railway  than  to  walk  on  foot.  I  know  there  are  great  and  almost 
insurmountable  difficulties  that  will  have  to  be  encountered  ;  but 
what  I  have  said  will  come  to  pass  as  sure  as  we  live.  I  only 
wish  I  may  live  to  see  the  day,  though  that  I  caii  scarcely  hope 
for,  as  I  know  how  slow  all  human  progress  is,  and  with  what 


OPENING    OF    THE    DARLINGTON    RAILWAY.  187 

difiiculty  I  have  been  able  to  get  the  locomotive  adopted,  not- 
withstanding my  more  than  ten  years  successful  experiment  at 
Ivillingvvorth."  The  result,  however,  outstripped  even  the  most 
sanguine  anticipations  of  Stephenson  ;  and  his  son  Robert,  shortly 
after  his  return  from  America  in  1827,  saw  his  father's  locomo- 
tive generally  adopted  as  the  tractive  power  on  railways. 

The  Stockton  and  Darlington  line  was  opened  for  traffic  on 
the  27th  of  September,  1825.  An  immense  concourse  of  people 
assembled  from  all  parts  to  witness  the  ceremony  of  opening 
this  first  public  railway.  The  powerful  opposition  which  the 
project  had  encountered,  the  threats  which  were  still  uttered 
against  the  railway  by  the  road  trustees  and  othei-s,  who  declared 
that  they  would  yet  pi-event  its  being  worked,  and  perhaps  the 
general  unbelief  as  to  its  success  which  still  prevailed,  tended 
greatly  to  excite  the  curiosity  of  the  public  as  to  the  result. 
Some  went  to  rejoice  at  the  opening,  some  to  see  "the  bubble 
burst;"  and  there  were  many  prophets  of  evil  who  would  not 
miss  the  blowing  up  of  the  boasted  Traveling  Engine.  The 
opening  was,  however,  auspicious.  The  proceedings  commenced 
at  Brusselton  Incline,  about  nine  miles  above  Darlington,  when 
the  fixed  engine  drew  a  train  of  loaded  wagons  up  the  incline 
from  the  west,  and  lowered  them  on  the  east  side.  At  the  foot 
of  the  incline,  a  locomotive  was  in  readiness  to  receive  them, 
Mr.  Stephenson  himself  driving  the  engine.  The  train  con- 
sisted of  six  wagons,  loaded  with  coals  and  flour ;  after  these 
was  the  passenger  coach,  filled  with  the  Directors  and  their 
friends,  and  then  twenty-one  wagons  fitted  up  with  temporary 
seats  for  passengers ;  and  lastly  came  six  wagon-loads  of  coals, 
making  in  all  a  train  of  thirty-eight  vehicles.  The  local  chroni- 
cler of  the  day  went  almost  out  of  breath  in  describing  the  extra- 
ordinary event: — "The  signal  being  given,"  he  says,  "the 
engine  started  off  with  this  immense  train  of  carriages  ;  and  such 
was  its  velocity,  that  in  some  parts  the  speed  was  frequently  12 
miles  an  hour ;  and  at  that  time  the  number  of  passengers  was 


188  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

counted  to  be  450,  which,  together  with  the  coals,  merchandise 
and  cai-riages,  would  amount  to  near  90  tons.  The  engine,  with 
its  load,  arrived  at  Darlington,  a  distance  of  8|  miles,  in  65 
minutes.  The  six  wagons  loaded  with  coals,  intended  for  Dar- 
lington, were  then  left  behind ;  and,  obtaining  a  fresh  supply  of 
water  and  arranging  the  procession  to  accommodate  a  band  of 
music,  and  numerous  passengers  from  Darlington,  the  engine  set 
off  again,  and  arrived  at  Stockton  in  3  hours  and  7  minutes, 
including  stoppages,  the  distance  being  nearly  12  miles."  By 
the  time  the  train  reached  Stockton,  there  were  about  600  per- 
sons in  the  train  or  hanging  on  to  the  wagons,  which  must  have 
gone  at  a  safe  and  steady  pace  of  from  4  to  6  miles  an  hour  from 
Darlington.  "  The  arrival  at  Stockton,"  it  is  added,  "  excited  a 
deep  interest  and  admiration." 

The  working  of  the  line  then  commenced,  and  the  results  were 
such  as  to  surpi-ise  even  the  most  sanguine  of  its  projectors. 
The  traffic  upon  which  they  had  formed  their  estimates  of  profit, 
proved  to  be  small  in  comparison  with  the  traffic  which  flowed 
in  upon  them  that  had  never  been  taken  into  account.  Thus, 
what  the  company  had  principally  rehed  upon  for  their  profit, 
was  the  carriage  of  coals  for  land  sale  at  the  stations  along  the 
line,  whereas  the  haulage  of  coals  to  the  seaports  for  exportation 
to  the  London  market,  was  not  contemplated  as  possible.  AYhen 
the  bill  was  before  Parliament,  Mr.  Lambton  (afterwards  Earl 
of  Durham)  succeeded  in  getting  a  clause  inserted,  limiting  the 
charge  for  the  haulage  of  all  coal  to  Stockton-on-Tees  for  the 
purpose  of  shipment,  to  one  halfpenny  per  ton  per  mile  ;  whereas 
a  rate  of  fourpence  per  ton  was  allowed  to  be  taken  for  all  coals 
led  upon  the  railway  for  land  sale.  Mr.  Lambton's  object  in 
enforcing  the  low  rate  of  one  halfpenny  was  to  protect  his  own 
trade  in  coal  exported  from  Sunderland  and  the  northern  ports. 
He  believed,  in  common  with  everybody  else,  that  the  halfpenny 
rate  would  effectually  secui'e  him  against  any  competition  on  the 
part  of  the   Stockton  and  Darlington  Company ;  for  it  was  not 


THE    PASSENGER    COACH.  189 

considered  possible  for  coals  to  be  led  at  that  low  price,  and  the 
pro2)rietors  of  the  railway  themselves  considered  that  to  carry 
coals  at  such  a  rate  would  be  utterly  ruinous.  The  projectors 
never  contemplated  sending  more  than  ten  thousand  tons  a  year 
to  Stockton,  and  those  only  for  shipment  as  ballast ;  they  looked 
for  their  profits  almost  exclusively  to  the  land  sale.  The  result, 
however,  was  as  surprising  to  them  as  it  must  have  been  to  Mr. 
Lambton.  The  halfpenny  rate  which  was  forced  upon  them, 
instead  of  being  ruinous,  proved  the  vital  element  in  the  success 
of-  the  railway.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years,  the  annual  ship- 
ment of  coal,  led  by  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway  to 
Stockton  and  Middlesborough,  exceeded  five  hundred  thousand 
tons ;  and  it  has  since  far  exceeded  this  amount.  Instead  of 
being,  as  anticipated,  a  subordinate  branch  of  traffic,  it  proved, 
in  fact,  the  main  traffic,  while  the  land  sale  was  merely  sub- 
sidiary. 

The  anticipations  of  the  company  as  to  passenger  traffic  were 
in  like  manner  more  than  realized.  At  first,  passengers  were 
not  thought  of;  and  it  was  only  while  the  works  were  in  progress 
that  the  starting  of  a  passenger  coach  was  seriously  contemplated. 
The  number  of  persons  traveling  between  the  two  towns  was 
very  small ;  and  it  was  not  known  whether  these  would  risk 
their  persons  upon  the  iron  road.  It  was  determined,  however, 
to  make  the  trial  of  a  railway  coach ;  and  Mr.  Stephenson  was 
authorized  by  the  Directors  to  have  one  built  to  his  order  at 
Newcastle,  at  the  cost  of  the  company.  This  was  done  accord- 
ingly ;  and  the  first  railway  passenger  carriage  was  built  after 
our  engineer's  plans.  It  was,  however,  a  very  modest,  and  in- 
deed a  somewhat  uncouth  machine,  more  resembling  a  caravan 
such  as  is  still  to  be  seen  at  county  fairs,  containing  the  "  Giant 
and  the  Dwarf"  and  other  wonders  of  the  world,  than  a  passenger 
coach  of  any  extant  form.  A  row  of  seats  ran  along  each  side 
of  the  interior,  and  a  long  deal  table  was  fixed  in  the  centre ; 
the  access  being  by  means  of  a  door  at  the  end,  in  the  manner 


L90  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

of  an  omnibus.  This  coach  arrived  from  Newcastle  the  day  be- 
fore the  opening,  and  formed  part  of  the  railway  procession  above 
described.  Mr.  Stephenson  was  consulted  as  to  the  name  of  the 
coach,  and  he  at  once  suggested  the  "Experiment;"  and  by  this 
name  it  was  called.  The  company's  arms  were  afterwards 
painted  on  her  panels,  with  the  motto  of  "Periculum  privatum 
utilitas  publica."  Such  was  the  sole  passenger-carrying  stock  of 
the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Company  in  the  year  1825.  But 
the  "Experiment"  proved  the  forerunner  of  a  mighty  traffic; 
and  long  time  did  not  elapse  before  it  was  displaced,  not  only  by 
improved  coaches  (still  drawn  by  horses),  but  afterwards  by  long 
trains  of  passenger  carriages  drawn  by  locomotive  engines. 

No  sooner  did  the  coal  and  merchandise  trains  begin  to  run 
regularly  upon  the  line,  than  new  business  relations  sprang  up 
between  Stockton  and  Darlington,  and  there  were  many  more 
persons  who  found  occasion  to  travel  between  the  two  towns  — 
merchandise  and  mineral  traffic  invariably  stunulating,  if  not 
calling  into  existence  an  entirely  new  traffic  in  passengers.  Be- 
fore the  construction  of  the  line,  the  attempt  had  been  made  to 
run  a  coach  between  Stockton,  Darlington  and  Barnard  Castle 
three  times  a  week ;  but  it  was  starved  off  the  road  for  want  of 
support.  Now,  however,  that  there  were  numbers  of  people 
desiring  to  travel,  the  stage-coach  by  the  common  road  was  re- 
vived, and  prospered,  and  many  other  persons  connected  with 
the  new  traffic  got  a  "lift"  by  the  railway  wagons,  which  were 
even  more  popular  than  the  stage-coach. 

The  "Experiment"  was  fairly  started  as  a  passenger-coach 
on  the  10th  of  October,  1825,  a  fortnight  after  the  opening  of 
the  line.  It  was  drawn  by  one  horse,  and  performed  a  journey 
daily  each  way  between  the  two  towns,  accomplishing  the  dis- 
tance of  twelve  miles  in  about  two  hours.  The  fare  charged  was 
a  shilling,  without  distinction  of  class ;  and  each  passenger  was 
allowed  fourteen  pounds  of  luggage  free.  The  "Experiment" 
was   not,  however,  worked   by   the  company,   but  was   let   to 


COMPETITIOX.  191 

Messrs.  Pickersgill  and  Harland,  carriers  on  the  railway,  under 
an  aiTangement  with  them  as  to  the  payment  of  tolls  for  the  use 
of  the  line,  rent  of  booking  cabins,  etc. 

The  speculation  answered  so  well,  that  several  coaching  com- 
panies were  shortly  got  up  by  innkeepers  at  Darlington  and 
Stockton,  for  the  purpose  of  running  other  coaches  upon  the  rail- 
road— and  an  active  competition  for  passenger  traffic  now  sprang 
up.  The  "Experiment"  being  found  too  heavy  for  one  horse  to 
draw  between  Stockton  and  Dai-lington,  besides  being  found  an 
uncomfortable  machine,  was  banished  to  the  coal  district,  and  ran 
for  a  time  between  Darlington  and  Shildon.  Its  place  on  the 
line  between  Stockton  and  Darlington  was  supplied  by  other  and 
better  vehicles — though  they  were  no  other  than  old  stage-coach 
bodies,  which  were  purchased  by  the  company,  each  mounted 
upon  an  underframe  with  flange  wheels,  and  let  out  to  the  coach- 
ing companies,  who  horsed  and  managed  them  under  an  arrange- 
ment as  to  tolls,  in  like  manner  as  the  "Experiment"  had  been 
worked.  Now  began  the  distinction  of  inside  and  outside  pas- 
sengers, equivalent  to  first  and  second  class,  paying  different 
fares.  The  competition  with  each  other  upon  the  railway,  and 
with  the  ordinary  stage-coaches  upon  the  road,  soon  brought  up 
the  speed,  which  Avas  increased  to  ten  miles  an  hour — the  mail 
coach  rate  of  traveling  in  those  days,  and  considered  very  fast. 
The  coaches  filled  almost  daily.  "In  fact,"  says  a  writer  of  the 
time,  "  the  passengers  do  not  seem  to  be  at  all  particular,  for,  in 
cases  of  urgency,  they  are  seen  crowding  the  coach  on  the  top, 
sides,  or  any  part  where  they  can  get  a  footing ;  and  they  are 
frequently  so  numerous,  that  when  they  descend  from  the  coach 
and  begin  to  separate,  it  looks  like  the  dismissal  of  a  small  con- 
gregation ! " 

]SIr.  Clephan,  a  native  of  the  district,  thus  piquantly  describes 
some  of  the  more  prominent  features  of  the  competition  between 
the  rival  coach  companies:  "There  were  two  separate  coach  com- 
panies in  Stockton,  and  amusing  colUsions  sometimes  occurred 


192  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

between  the  drivers — who  found  on  the  rail  a  novel  element  for 
contention.  Coaches  cannot  pass  each  other  on  the  rail  as  on  the 
road ;  and  at  the  more  westward  public-house  in  Stockton  (the 
Bay  Horse,  kept  by  Joe  Buckton,)  the  coach  was  always  on  the 
lino  betimes,  reducing  its  eastward  rival  to  the  necessity  of  wait- 
ing patiently  (or  impatiently)  in  the  rear.  Difficulties,  too,  oc- 
curred along  the  road.  The  Une  was  single,  with  four  sidings 
in  the  mile ;  and  when  two  coaches  met,  or  two  trains,  or  coach 
and  train,  the  question  arose  which  of  the  drivers  must  go  back  ? 
This  was  not  always  settled  in  silence.  As  to  trains,  it  came  to 
be  a  sort  of  understanding  that  light  wagons  should  give  way  to 
loaded ;  and  as  to  trains  and  coaches,  that  the  passenger  should 
have  preference  over  coals ;  while  coaches,  when  they  met,  must 
quarrel  it  out.  At  length,  midAvay  between  sidings,  a  post  was 
erected ;  and  a  rule  was  laid  down  that  he  who  had  passed  the 
pillar  must  go  on,  and  the  'coming  man'  go  back.  At  the  Goose 
Pool  and  Eai'ly  Nook,  it  was  common  for  these  coaches  to  stop ; 
and  there,  as  Jonathan  would  say,  passengers  and  coachmen 
'liquored.'  One  coach,  introduced  by  an  innkeeper,  was  a  com- 
pound of  two  mourning-coaches — an  approximation  to  the  real 
railway  coach,  which  still  adheres,  with  multiplying  exceptions, 
to  the  stage-coach  type.  One  Dixon,  who  drove  the  'Experi- 
ment' between  Darlington  and  Childon,  is  the  inventor  of  car- 
riage lighting  on  the  rail.  On  a  dai'k  winter  night,  having  com- 
passion on  his  passengers,  he  would  buy  a  penny  candle,  and 
place  it,  lighted,  amongst  them,  on  the  table  of  the  'Experiment' 
— the  first  railway  coach,  (which,  by  the  way,  ended  its  days  at 
Shildon,  as  a  railway  cabin,)  being  also  the  first  coach  on  the 
rail  (first,  second  and  third  class  jammed  all  into  one)  that  in 
dulged  its  customers  with  light  in  darkness."  * 

The  traffic  of  aU  sorts  increased  so  steadily  and  so  rapidly  that 

*  Mr.  Clephan  has  introduced  these  particulars  in  his  interesting  review  of  the  first 
edition  of  this  book,  published  in  the  Gateshead  Observer;  ind  I  gladly  avail  myself  of 
his  excellent  local  knowledge  on  the  subject. 


EFFICIENCY   OF   THE   LOCOMOTIVE.  193 

the  Dii-ectors  of  the  company  shortly  found  it  necessary  to  taJce 
into  their  own  hands  the  entire  working — of  minerals,  merchan- 
dise and  passengers.  It  had  been  provided  by  the  first  Stockton 
and  Darlington  Act  that  the  line  should  be  free  to  all  parties 
who  chose  to  use  it  at  certain  prescribed  rates,  and  that  any  per- 
son might  put  horses  and  wagons  on  the  railway,  and  carry  for 
himself.  But  this  arrangement  led  to  increasing  confusion  and 
difficulty,  and  could  not  continue  in  the  face  of  a  large  and  rap- 
idly increasing  traffic.  The  goods  trains  got  so  long,  that  the 
carriers  found  it  necessary  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the  locomotive 
engine  to  help  them  on  their  way.  Then  mixed  trains  began  to 
be  seen  of  passengers  and  merchandise — the  final  result  being 
the  assumption  of  the  entire  charge  of  the  traffic  by  the  railway 
company.  In  course  of  time  new  passenger  canuages  were  spe- 
cially built  for  the  better  accommodation  of  the  public,  until  at 
length  regular  passenger  trains  were  run,  drawn  by  the  locomo- 
tive engine — though  this  was  not  until  after  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  Company  had  established  passenger  trains  as  a  dis- 
tinct branch  of  their  traffic. 

Three  of  Stephenson's  locomotives  were  from  the  first  regu- 
larly employed  to  work  the  coal  trains ;  and  their  proved  effi- 
ciency for  this  purpose  led  to  the  gi'adual  increase  of  the  locomo- 
tive power.  The  speed  of  the  engines — slow  though  it  was  in 
those  days — was  regarded  as  something  marvelous;  and  a  race 
actually  came  off  between  No.  1  engine,  the  "Active,"  and  one 
of  the  stage-coaches  traveling  from  Darlington  to  Stockton  by  the 
ordinary  road ;  and  it  was  regarded  as  a  great  triumph  of  me- 
chanical skill  that  the  locomotive  reached  Stockton  first,  beating 
the  stage-coach  by  about  a  hundred  yards !  * 

*  The  same  engine  continued  in  good  working  order  in  the  year  1846,  when  it  headed 
the  railway  procession  on  the  opening  of  the  Middlesborough  and  Redcar  Railway,  travel- 
ing at  the  rate  of  about  fourteen  miles  an  hour.  This  engine,  the  first  that  traveled  upon 
the  first  public  railway,  has  quite  recently  been  placed  upon  a  pedestal  in  front  of  the 
railway  station  at  Darlington. 

13 


194  LIFE  OF    GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

For  some  years,  however,  the  principal  haulage  of  the  line 
was  performed  by  horses.  The  inclination  of  the  gradients  be- 
ing towards  the  sea,  this  Avas  perhaps  the  cheapest  mode  of  trac- 
tion, so  long  as  the  traffic  was  not  very  large.  The  horse  drew 
the  train  along  the  level  road  until,  on  reaching  a  descending 
gradient,  down  which  the  train  ran  by  its  own  weight,  the  horse 
was  unharnessed,  and,  when  loose,  he  wheeled  round  to  the  other 
end  of  the  wagons,  to  which  a  "dandy-cart"  was  attached,  its  bot- 
tom being  only  a  few  inches  from  the  rail.  Bringing  his  step 
into  unison  with  the  speed  of  the  train,  the  hoi'se  leapt  nimbly 
into  his  place  in  this  wagon,  which  was  usually  fitted  with  a  well- 
filled  hay-rack.  Mi".  Clephan  relates  the  story  of  a  sagacious 
gray  horse,  which  was  fertile  in  expedients  when  emergencies 
arose :  "  On  one  occasion  perceiving  that  a  train,  which  had  run 
amain,  must  rush  into  his  dandy-cart,  he  took  a  leap  for  life  over 
the  side,  and  escaped.  In  a  similar  peril,  a  leap  over  the  side 
being  impracticable,  he  sprung  on  to  the  coal-wagon  in  front,  and 
stood  like  an  equestrian  statue  on  a  pedestal.  But  the  time 
came,  at  last,  when  there  was  no  escape ;  and  the  poor  old  gi-ay 
was  destroyed." 

The  details  of  the  working  were  gradually  perfected  by  expe- 
rience, the  projectors  of  the  line  being  at  first  scarcely  conscious 
of  the  importance  and  significance  of  the  work  which  they  had 
taken  in  hand,  and  little  thinking  that  they  were  laying  the  foun- 
dation of  a  system  which  was  yet  to  revolutionize  the  internal 
communications  of  the  world,  and  confer  the  greatest  blessings 
on  mankind.  It  is  important  to  note  that  the  commercial  results 
of  the  enterprise  were  considered  satisfactory  from  the  opening 
of  the  railway.  Besides  conferring  a  great  public  benefit  upon 
the  inhabitants  of  the  district,  and  throwing  open  entirely  new 
markets  for  the  almost  boundless  stores  of  coal  found  in  the 
Bishop  Aukland  district,  the  profits  derived  from  the  traffic  cre- 
ated by  the  railway,  enabled  increasing  dividends  to  be  paid  to 
those  who  had  risked  their  capital  in  the  undertaking,  and  thus 


MIDDLESBOROUGII-ON-TEES.  195 

held  fortt  an  encouragement  to  the  projectors  of  railways  gen- 
erally, which  was  not  without  an  important  effect  in  stimulating 
the  projection  of  similar  enterprises  in  other  districts.* 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  the  Stockton  and  Darlington 
Railway,  we  cannot  avoid  alluding  to  one  of  its  most  remarkable 
and  direct  results — the  creation  of  the  town  of  Middlesborou"-li- 
on-Tees,  When  the  railway  was  opened  in  1825,  the  site  of  tliis 
future  metropoHs  of  Cleveland  was  occupied  by  one  solitary 
fai-mhouse  and  its  outbuildings.  All  round  was  pasture  land  or 
mud  banks ;  scarcely  another  house  was  within  sight.  But  when 
the  coal  export  trade,  fostered  by  the  halfpenny  maximum  rate 
imposed  by  the  legislature,  seemed  hkely  to  attain  a  gigantic 
growth,  and  it  was  found  that  the  accommodation  furnished  at 
Stockton  was  insufficient,  Mr.  Edward  Pease,  joined  by  a  few  of 
his  Quaker  friends,  bought  about  500  or  600  acres  of  land,  five 
miles  lower  down  the  river — the  site  of  the  modern  Middlesbor- 
ough — for  the  purpose  of  there  forming  a  new  seaport  for  the 
shipment  of  coals  brought  to  the  Tees  by  the  railway.  The  line 
was  accordingly  shortly  extended  thither ;  docks  were  excavated ; 

*  From  the  minute  books  of  the  Stockton  antl  Darlington  Company,  it  appears  that  a 
diridend  of  2)i  per  cent,  ivas  paid  to  the  shareholders  for  the  first  nine  months  after  the 
line  was  opened,  during  which  period  the  traffic  arrangements  must  necessarily  have 
been  in  a  very  incomplete  state.  The  Company  had  all  their  experience  to  gather,  hav- 
ing none  to  fall  back  upon.  Everything  was  to  organize  from  the  very  beginning.  Un- 
der these  circumstances,  it  was  matter  of  congratulation  to  the  proprietors  that  any 
profits  should  have  been  made  during  those  first  nine  months.  But  in  the  next  year 
ending  June,  1827,  a  dividend  of  o  per  cent,  was  paid ;  and  the  same  rate  was  maintained 
until  1831,  when  it  was  increased  to  6  per  cent.,  and  in  1832  to  8  per  cent.  It  was  mat- 
ter of  notoriety  that  10  per  cent,  was  afterwards  paid  during  many  years,  which  arose 
in  some  measure  from  the  circumstance  that  the  Company  were  enabled  to  borrow  a 
large  proportion  of  their  capital  at  a  low  rate  of  interest,  whilst  the  share  capital  upon 
which  dividend  was  paid,  remained  comparatively  small.  These  arrangements,  however, 
proved  the  shrewd  business  qualities  of  the  men  who  originally  conducted  the  under- 
taking. The  results,  as  displa3ed  in  the  annual  dividends,  must  have  been  eminently 
encouraging  to  the  astute  conmiercial  men  of  Liverpool  and  Manchester,  who  were  then 
engaged  in  the  prosecution  of  their  railway.  Indeed,  the  commercial  success  of  the 
Stockton  and  Darlington  Company  may  bo  justly  characterized  as  the  turning-point  of 
the  railway  system.  With  that  practical  illustration  daily  in  siglit  of  the  pubUc  it  was 
no  longer  possible  for  Parliament  to  have  prevented  its  eventual  extension. 


196  LIFE  OF    GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

a  town  sprang  up  ;  churches,  chapels  and  schools  were  built,  with 
a  custom-house,  mechanics'  institute,  banks,  ship-building  yards 
and  iron  factories ;  and  in  a  few  years  the  port  of  Middlesbor- 
ough  became  one  of  the  most  important  on  the  north-east  coast 
of  England.  In  the  year  1845,  505,486  tons  of  coals  were 
shipped  in  the  nine-acre  dock,  by  means  of  the  ten  coal-drops 
abutting  thereupon.  In  about  ten  years  a  busy  population  of 
about  6,000  persons  (since  swelled  into  15,000)  occupied  the  site 
of  the  original  farmhouse.  More  recently,  the  discovery  of  vast 
stores  of  ironstone  in  the  Cleveland  IliUs,  close  adjoining  Mid- 
dlesborough,  has  tended  still  more  rapidly  to  augment  the  popu- 
lation and  increase  the  commercial  importance  of  the  place. 
Iron  furnaces  are  now  blazing  along  the  vale  of  Cleveland :  and 
new  smelting  works  are  rising  up  in  all  directions,  fed  by  the 
i-ailway,  which  brings  to  them  their  supplies  of  fuel  from  the 
Durham  coal-fields. 

It  is  pleasing  to  relate,  in  connection  with  this  great  work — 
the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway,  projected  by  Edward 
Pease  and  executed  by  George  Stephenson — that  afterwards, 
when  Mr.  Stephenson  became  a  prosperous  and  celebrated  man, 
he  did  not  forget  the  friend  who  had  taken  him  by  the  hand,  and 
helped  him  on  in  his  early  days.  He  always  remembered  Mr. 
Pease  with  gratitude  and  affection ;  and  that  gentleman  is  still 
proud  to  exhibit  a  handsome  gold  watch,  received  as  a  gift  from 
his  celebrated  protege,  bearing  these  words :  "Esteem  and  grati- 
tude :  from  George  Stephenson  to  Edward  Pease."' 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

MR.   STEPHENSON  APPOINTED  TO   SURVEY  A  RAILWAY  FROM  LIVERPOOL 

TO  MANCHESTER. 

The  project  of  a  line  of  railway  from  Liverpool  to  Manchester 
was  revived  in  the  speculative  year  1824.  It  had  not,  indeed, 
been  lost  sight  of  by  its  advocates,  who  had  merely  waited  for  a 
time  in  the  hope  of  mitigating  the  opposition  of  the  powerful 
canal  companies  and  land-owners.  But  the  interruptions  to  the 
conveyance  of  goods  between  the  two  towns  had  at  length  become 
intolerable  ;  and  it  was  a  matter  of  absolute  necessity  that  some 
mode  should  be  adopted  for  remedying  the  evil. 

Mr.  Sandars  continued  to  hold  by  his  project  of  a  railway ;  and 
his  first  idea,  of  a  solidly  constructed  tramway,  to  be  worked  by 
horse  power,  gradually  assumed  a  more  comprehensive  form. 
He  continued  to  propagate  his  ideas  upon  'Change,  and  gradually 
succeeded  in  enlisting  on  his  side  an  increasing  number  of  influ- 
ential merchants  and  manufacturers,  both  at  Liverpool  and  Man- 
chester. In  1824  he  published  a  pamphlet,  in  which  he  strongly 
urged  the  great  losses  and  interruptions  to  the  trade  of  the  dis- 
trict by  the  delays  in  the  transport  of  goods ;  and  in  the  same 
year  a  Public  Declaration  was  drawn  up,  and  signed  by  upwards 
of  150  of  the  principal  merchants  of  Liverpool,  setting  forth  that 
they  considered  "the  present  establishments  for  the  transport  of 
goods  quite  inadequate,  and  that  a  new  line  of  conveyance  has 

(197) 


198  LIFE  OF  GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

become  absolutely  necessary  to  conduct  the  increasing  trade  of 
the  country  with  speed,  certainty  and  economy." 

The  formation  of  a  third  line  of  water  conveyance,  in  addition 
to  the  Mersey  and  Irwell  Canals,  was  also  considered ;  but  it  was 
almost  immediately  dismissed  as  impracticable,  as  the  two  exist- 
ing establishments  had  ali-eady  possession  of  all  the  water. 
There  was  no  choice  left  but  a  tram  or  railroad,  and  the  very 
necessities  of  the  case  forced  on  the  adoption  of  the  measure. 
Even  though  worked  by  horses,  the  proposed  tramroad  would  be 
a  valuable  auxiliary  to  the  existing  means  of  conveyance.  A 
public  meeting  was  held  at  Liverpool  to  consider  the  best  plan 
to  be  adopted,  and  a  railway  was  determined  on.  A  committee 
was  appointed  to  take  the  necessary  measures ;  but,  as  if  reluct- 
ant to  enter  upon  their  arduous  struggle  with  "  vested  interests," 
they  first  waited  on  JVIi-.  Bradshaw,  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater's 
canal  agent,  in  the  hope  of  persuading  him  to  increase  the  means 
of  conveyance,  as  well  as  to  reduce  the  charges ;  but  they  were 
only  met  by  an  unqualified  refusal.  They  suggested  the  expe- 
diency of  a  railway,  and  even  invited  Mr.  Bi-adshaw  to  become 
a  large  proprietor  of  shares.  But  his  reply  was:  "All  or  none!" 
The  canal  proprietors  were  confident  in  their  imagined  security. 
They  reveled  in  the  prospect  of  enjoying  in  perpetuity  their 
enormous  dividends,  which  were  so  great  that  one  of  their  un- 
dertakings (the  Old  Quay)  had  paid  to  its  thirty-nine  proprietors, 
every  other  year  for  half  a  century,  the  total  amount  of  their 
original  investment ;  and  the  income  derived  from  the  Duke  of 
Bridgewater's  canal  amounted  to  not  less  than  100,000/.  a  vear. 
Mr.  Bradshaw  knew  that  no  third  canal  could  be  made,  because 
all  the  available  water  was  already  absorbed  by  the  two  existing 
ones.  As  for  the  proposed  railway,  the  canal  proprietors  ridi- 
culed it  as  a  chimera.  It  had  been  spoken  about  years  before, 
when  Mr.  James  made  his  survey,  and  nothing  had  come  of  it 
then.  It  would  be  the  same  now.  .  The  thing,  they  said,  was 
got  up  merely  to  frighten  them ;  but  they  were  not  so  to  be  in- 


A    COMMITTEE    VISITS    KILLINGWORTH.  199 

timidated.  The  old  system  must  therefore  continue ;  and  there 
Avas  no  alternative  for  the  merchants  of  Liverpool  and  the  manu- 
facturers of  Manchester  but  to  submit  with  the  best  grace  pos- 
sible to  the  obstructions  and  extortions  of  the  canal  companies. 

In  order  to  form  an  opinion  of  the  practicability  of  a  railroad, 
a  deputation  consisting  of  Mr.  Sandars,  Mr.  Lister  Ellis,  Mr. 
Henry  Booth  of  Liverpool,  and  Mr.  Kennedy  of  Manchester, 
proceeded  to  Killingworth,  to  inspect  the  engines  which  had  been 
so  long  in  use  there.  They  first  went  to  Dai-lington,  where  they 
found  the  works  of  the  Stockton  line  in  full  progress,  though  still 
unfinished.  Proceeding  next  to  Killingworth  with  Mr.  Stephen- 
son, they  there  witnessed  the  performances  of  his  locomotive 
engines.  The  result  of  their  visit  was,  on  the  whole,  so  satisfac- 
tory, that  on  their  report  being  delivered  to  the  committee  at 
Liverpool,  it  was  finally  determined  to  form  a  company  of  pro- 
prietors for  the  construction  of  a  double  line  of  railway  between 
Liverpool  and  Manchester. 

The  first  prospectus  of  the  scheme  was  dated  the  29th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1824,  and  had  attached  to  it  the  names  of  the  leading 
merchants  of  Liveqwol — amongst  them  those  of  Gladstone, 
Lawrence,  Ewart,  Ellis,  Moss,  Cropper,  and  other  well  known 
men,  representatives  of  the  wealth,  the  enterprise  and  the  energy 
of  that  great  seaport.  Nor  were  the  manufacturers  of  Man- 
chester behind  the  merchants  and  bankers  of  Liverpool  in  signi- 
fying their  adhesion  to  the  measure ;  for  amongst  the  first  sub- 
scribers we  find  the  influential  names  of  Birley,  Potter,  Sharpe 
and  Garnett,  of  that  town.  Mr.  Charles  Lawrence,  mayor  of 
Liverpool,  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  provisional  committee. 
The  prospectus  was  a  carefully  prepared  document,  very  un- 
like the  inflated  balloons  which  were  sent  up  by  railway  specu- 
lators in  succeeding  years.  It  set  forth  as  its  main  object  the 
establishment  of  a  safe  and  cheap  mode  of  transit  for  merchan- 
dise, by  which  the  conveyance  of  goods  between  the  two  towns 
would  be  effected  in  four  or  five  hours  (instead  of  thirty-six 


200  LIFE   OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

hoiu's  as  by  the  canal),  whilst  the  charges  would  be  reduced  one 
third.  On  looking  at  the  prospectus  now,  it  is  curious  to  note 
that,  wliile  the  ad\-antage3  anticipated  from  the  carriage  of  mer- 
chandise were  strongly  insisted  upon,  the  conveyance  of  passen- 
gers— which  proved  to  be  the  chief  source  of  profit — was  only 
veiy  cautiously  referred  to.  "As  a  cheap  and  expeditious  means 
of  conveyance  for  travelers,"  says  the  prospectus  in  conclusion, 
'•  the  railway  holds  out  the  fair  prospect  of  a  pubUc  accommoda- 
tion, the  magnitude  and  impoi'tance  of  which  cannot  be  imme- 
diately ascertained." 

The  estimated  expense  of  forming  the  line  was  set  down  at 
400,000/. — a  sum  which  was  eventually  found  to  be  quite  inade- 
quate. A  subscription  list  was  opened,  and  speedily  filled  up. 
Four  thousand  shares  of  100/.  each  were  created ;  and  it  was  a 
condition  of  the  subscription  that  no  one  person  was  to  hold  more 
than  ten  shares.  This  secured  a  large  and  influential  proprie- 
tary ;  and  such  was  the  interest  felt  in  the  measure  at  Liverpool 
and  JManchester — so  strongly  convinced  were  the  merchants, 
manufacturers  and  tradesmen,  of  the  necessity  of  the  undertak- 
ing, and  so  determined  that  it  should  now  be  carried  out — that 
if  the  amount  of  capital  had  been  ten  times  as  great,  it  would  im- 
mediately have  been  subscribed  for. 

While  the  project  was  still  under  discussion  in  its  earlier 
stages,  its  promoters,  desii'ous  of  removing  the  doubts  which 
existed  as  to  the  employment  of  steam-carriages  on  the  proposed 
railway,  sent  a  second  deputation  to  Killingworth  for  the  purpose 
of  again  observing  the  action  of  'Mr.  Stephenson's  engines.  The 
deputation  was  on  this  occasion  accompanied  by  Mr.  Sylvester, 
an  ingenious  mechanic  and  engineer,  who  afterwards  presented 
an  able  report  on  the  subject  to  the  committee.*  Mr.  Sylvester 
showed  that  the  high-pressure  engines  employed  by  Mr.  Stephen- 

*  Report  of  Railroads  and  Locomotive  Engines,  addressed  to  tlie  Chairmaa  and  Com- 
mittee of  the  Liverpool  and  Mancliester  projected  Railroad.  By  Charles  Sylvester,  Civil 
Engineer.    Liverpool:  1825. 


A    THIRD    VISIT    TO    KILLINGWORTH.  201 

son  were  both  safe  and  economical  in  their  working.  With  re- 
spect to  the  speed  of  the  engines,  he  says:  "AUhough  it  would 
be  practicable  to  go  at  any  speed,  limited  by  the  means  of  creat- 
ing steam,  the  size  of  the  wheels,  and  the  number  of  strokes  in 
the  engine,  it  would  not  be  safe  to  go  at  a  greater  rate  than  nine 
or  ten  miles  an  hour."  This  Avas  considered  a  very  high  rate  of 
speed  in  those  days ;  and  speculators  were  considered  reckless 
who  ventured  to  express  themselves  in  favor  of  any  more  accel- 
erated pace. 

Satisfactory  though  the  calculations  and  statements  of  Mr. 
Sylvester  were,  the  cautious  projectors  of  the  railway  were  not 
yet  quite  satisfied ;  and  a  third  journey  was  made  to  Killing- 
worth,  in  January,  1825,  by  several  gentlemen  of  the  committee, 
for  the  purpose  of  being  personal  eye-witnesses  of  what  steam- 
carriages  were  able  to  perform  upon  a  railway.  There  they 
saw  a  train,  consisting  of  a  locomotive  and  loaded  wagons,  weigh- 
ing in  all  fifty-four  tons,  traveling  at  the  average  rate  of  about 
seven  miles  an  hour,  the  greatest  speed  being  about  nine  and  a 
half  miles  an  hour.  But  when  the  engine  was  run  by  itself,  with 
only  one  wagon  attached,  containing  twenty  gentlemen,  five  of 
whom  were  engineers,  the  speed  attained  was  from  ten  to  twelve 
miles  an  hour.  "When  it  is  considered,"  said  the  Quarterly  Re- 
view*  "that  neither  the  road  nor  the  engines  are  to  be  compared 
with  those  that  are  now  made,  and  that  some  parts  of  the  rails 
were  loose  and  irregular,  these  experiments  may  be  regarded  as 
quite  decisive  as  to  the  power  and  the  speed  that  may  with  safety 
be  exerted  on  railroads."     • 

When  the  promoters  of  the  measure  had  finally  determined  to 
proceed  to  Parliament  for  the  requisite  powers  to  form  the  rail- 
way, they  invited  ]\L-.  Stephenson  to  undertake  the  survey.  Mr. 
James's  dilatoriness  in  providing  the  plans  and  sections  had  by 
this  time  thoroughly  provoked  the  promoters  of  the  undertaking. 

*  March,  1825 ;  published  before  the  Liverpool  and  5Ianchester  Bill  was  in  Coramittea 
of  the  House  of  Commons. 


102  Life  of  george  stephexson. 

Besides,  he  was  now  involved  in  pecuniary  difficulties,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  failure  of  several  of  his  extensive  speculations ; 
and  he  was  under  the  necessity  of  removing  to  France,  where  he 
resided  for  some  years.  Before  leaving  England,  however,  he 
placed  the  imperfect  plans  of  his  first  survey  in  the  hands  of  the 
promoters,  and  he  also  made  over  to  them  his  surveying  appara- 
tus ;  at  the  same  time  pointing  to  George  Stephenson  as  the 
only  man  in  England  fitted  by  his  practical  knowledge  and  ex- 
perience of  railways  to  carry  out  the  undertaking  to  a  successful 
issue.  The  frequent  interviews  which  the  deputations  from 
Liverpool  had  held  with  him  on  the  subject,  as  well  as  on  the 
best  mode  of  working  the  line  when  made,  had  already  convinced 
them  that  he  was,  of  all  others,  the  man  best  calculated  to  help 
them  at  this  juncture.  The  successful  working  of  his  IviUing- 
worth  locomotives ;  the  energy  which  he  had  displayed  in  carry- 
ing on  the  works  of  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway,  now 
approaching  completion  ;  his  readiness  to  face  dithculties,  and  his 
practical  ability  in  overcoming  them ;  the  enthusiasm  which  he 
displayed  on  the  subject  of  railways  and  railway  locomotion — 
had  indeed  directed  their  attention  to  him  from  the  first  as  the 
most  fitting  man  for  the  office  of  engineer  of  their  great  under- 
taking ;  and  his  appointment  was  unanimously  confirmed. 

The  survey  was  proceeded  with,  in  the  face  of  great  opposition 
on  the  part  of  the  proprietors  of  the  lands  through  which  the  rail- 
way was  intended  to  pass.  The  prejudices  of  the  farming  and 
laboring  classes  were  strongly  excited  against  the  persons  em- 
ployed upon  the  ground,  and  it  was'  with  the  greatest  difficulty 
that  the  levels  could  be  taken.  This  opposition  was  especially 
manifested  when  the  attempt  was  made  to  survey  the  line  through 
the  property  of  Lord  Derby  and  that  of  Lord  Sefton,  and  also 
where  it  crossed  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater's  canal.  At  Knows- 
ley,  Mr.  Stephenson  was  driven  off  the  ground  by  the  keepers, 
and  threatened  with  rough  handling  if  found  there  again.  Lord 
Derby's  farmers  also  turned  out  their  men  to  watch  the  survey- 


OPPOSITION    TO    THE    SURVEY.  203 

ing  party,  and  prevent  them  entering  upon  any  lands  where  they 
had  the  power  of  driving  them  off.  Afterwards,  Mr.  Stephenson 
suddenly  and  unexpectedly  went  upon  the  ground  with  a  body 
of  sui-veyors  and  their  assistants  who  outnumbered  Lord  Derby's 
keepers  and  farmers,  hastily  collected  to  resist  them ;  and  this 
time  they  were  only  threatened  with  the  legal  consequences  of 
their  trespass.  The  engineer's  excuse  for  taking  so  many  people 
with  him  was,  that  he  "did  not  like  the  instruments  to  be  broken, 
as  they  had  cost  a  gi-eat  deal  of  money  ;"  and  his  reason  for  mak- 
ing the  survey  in  spite  of  Lord  Derby's  refusal  to  permit  him  to 
enter  on  his  lands  was,  that  he  "  had  received  the  orders  of  the 
committee  to  make  the  survey."  *  The  same  sort  of  resistance 
was  offered  by  Lord  Sefton's  keepers  and  farm-laborers,  so  that 
only  a  very  imperfect  survey  could  be  made  of  the  line  where  it 
passed  through  those  two  noblemen's  domains.  The  obstructions 
placed  in  the  way  by  these  means  prevented  borings  being  made 
of  the  soil  at  Knowsley  Moss,  which  was  afterwards  made  a 
ground  of  objection  to  Mr.  Stephenson's  estimate  when  the  bill 
came  befoi-e  Parliament.  Great  indignation  was  also  expressed 
at  the  forcible  entries  made  by  his  surveyors  on  the  lands  along 
the  projected  line,  by  which  the  strawberry  beds  of  gardeners 
had  been  damaged  and  the  cornfields  of  widows  had  been 
trampled  under  foot.  In  all  such  instances  of  even  alleged 
damage,  Mr.  Stephenson  paid  compensation,  though  in  most  of 
the  cases  he  was  of  opinion  that  not  the  shghtest  damage  had 
been  done. 

The  principal  opposition,  however,  was  experienced  from  Mr. 
Bradshaw,  the  manager  of  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater's  canal 
property,  who  offered  a  vigoi-ous  and  protracted  resistance  to  the 
railway  in  all  its  stages.  The  Duke  of  Bridgewater's  farmers 
obstinately  refused  permission  to  enter  upon  their  fields,  although 
Mr.  Stephenson  offered  to  pay  for  any  damage  that  might  be 

*  Evidence  before  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  Liverpool  and  Man- 
chester Railroad  Bill.     Session  1825,  pp.  272,  273. 


204  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

done.  Mr.  Bradshaw  positively  refused  permission  in  any  case. 
The  survey  through  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater's  property  was 
consequently  made  entirely  by  stealth.  Mr.  Stephenson,  after- 
wards describing  the  difficulties  which  he  had  thus  encountered, 
said: — "I  was  threatened  to  be  ducked  in  the  pond  if  I  pro- 
ceeded, and,  of  course,  we  had  a  great  deal  of  the  survey  to  take 
by  stealth,  at  the  time  when  the  people  were  at  dinner.  We 
could  not  get  it  done  by  night :  indeed,  we  were  watched  day 
and  night,  and  guns  were  discharged  over  the  grounds  belonging 
to  Captain  Bradshaw  to  prevent  us.  I  can  state  further,  that  I 
was  myself  twice  turned  off  Mr.  Bradshaw's  grounds  by  his 
men ;  and  they  said  if  I  did  not  go  instantly,  they  would  take  me 
Dp  and  carry  me  off  to  "Worsley."  * 

The  levels  of  the  line  were  taken  by  Mr.  Steel  and  Mi\  Gil- 
lever,  and  the  surveys  were  made  by  numerous  assistants,  not 
then  so  expert  or  so  correct  in  railway  surveying  as  they  after- 
wards became.  Mr.  Stephenson  was  under  the  necessity  of  rely- 
ing upon  these  imperfect  surveys  in  the  preparation  of  his  esti- 
mates ;  and  it  is  not  at  all  a  matter  of  surprise  that,  when  the 
first  engineers  of  the  country  were  afterwards  set  in  array  against 
them  by  the  wealthy  canal  and  landed  interests,  they  should  have 
been  able  to  pick  so  many  holes  in  them,  and  thus  for  a  brief 
period  to  defeat  the  designs  of  the  promoters  of  the  measure. 

When  the  canal  companies  found  that  the  Liverpool  merchants 
were  determined  to  proceed  with  their  scheme — that  they  had 
completed  their  survey,  and  were  ready  to  apply  to  Parliament 
for  an  act  to  enable  them  to  form  the  railway,  they  at  last  re- 
luctantly, and  with  a  bad  grace,  made  overtures  of  conciliation. 
They  promised  to  employ  steam-vessels  both  on  the  Mersey  and 
on  the  canals.  One  of  the  companies  offered  to  reduce  its  length 
by  three  miles  at  a  considerable  expenditure.  At  the  sane  time 
they  made  a  show  of  lowering  their  rates.     But  it  was  all  too 

*  Proceedings  of  the  Committee  on  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railroad  Bill.    Evi- 
dence, p.  2G1. 


THE    OPPOSITION    ORGANIZED.  205 

late ;  for  the  project  of  the  railway  had  now  gone  so  far  that  the 
promoters  (who  might  have  been  conciliated  by  such  overtures  at 
an  earlier  period)  felt  they  w^ere  fully  committed  to  the  scheme, 
and  that  now  they  could  not  well  draw  back.  Besides,  the  rem- 
edies offered  by  the  canal  companies  could  only  have  had  the 
effect  of  staving  off  the  difficulty  for  a  brief  season — the  absolute 
necessity  of  forming  a  new  line  of  communication  between  Liver- 
pool and  Manchester  becoming  more  urgent  from  year  to  year. 
Arrangements  were  therefore  made  for  proceeding  witli  tlie  bill 
in  the  parhamentary  session  of  1825.  On  this  becoming  known, 
the  canal  companies  prepared  to  resist  the  measure  tooth  and  nail. 
The  public  were  appealed  to  on  the  subject ;  pamphlets  were 
written  and  newspapers  were  hired  to  revile  the  railway.  It 
was  declared  that  its  formation  would  prevent  cows  grazing  and 
hens  laying.  The  poisoned  air  from  the  locomotives  would  kill 
birds  as  they  flew  over  them,  and  render  the  preservation  of 
pheasants  and  foxes  no  longer  possible.  Householders  adjoining 
the  projected  line  were  told  that  their  houses  would  be  burnt  up 
by  the  fire  thrown  from  the  engine-chimneys,  while  the  air 
around  would  be  polluted  by  clouds  of  smoke.  There  would  no 
longer  be  any  use  for  horses ;  and  if  railways  extended,  the 
species  Avould  become  extinguished,  and  oats  and  hay  unsalable 
commodities.  Traveling  by  road  would  be  rendered  highly  dan- 
gerous, and  country  inns  would  be  ruined.  Boilers  would  burst 
and  blow  passengers  to  atoms.  But  there  was  always  this  con- 
solation to  wind  up  with — that  the  weight  of  the  locomotive 
would  completely  prevent  its  moving,  and  that  railways,  even  if 
made,  could  never  be  worked  by  steam-power ! 

Nevertheless,  the  canal  companies  of  Leeds,  Liverpool,  and 
Birmingham,  called  upon  every  navigation  company  in  the  king- 
dom to  oppose  railways  wherever  they  were  projected,  but  more 
especially  the  projected  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line,  the  battle 
with  which  they  evidently  regarded  as  their  Armageddon.  A 
Birmingham  newspaper  invited  opposition  to  the  measure,  and  a 


206  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

public  subscription  was  entered  into  for  the  purpose  of  making 
it  effectual.  The  newspapers  generally  spoke  of  the  project  as 
a  mere  speculation ;  some  wishing  it  success,  although  greatly 
doubting ;  others  ridiculing  it  as  a  delusion,  similar  to  the  many 
other  absurd  projects  of  that  madly-speculative  period.  It  Avas  a 
tune  when  balloon  companies  proposed  to  work  passenger  traffic 
through  the  air  at  forty  miles  an  hour,  and  when  road  companies 
projected  carriages  to  run  on  turnpikes  at  twelve  miles  an  hour, 
with  relays  of  bottled  gas  instead  of  horses.  There  were  com- 
panies for  the  working  of  American  gold  and  silver  mines  — 
companies  for  cutting  ship  canals  through  Panama  and  Nicara- 
gua— milk  companies,  burying  companies,  fish  companies  and 
steam  companies  of  all  sorts ;  and  many  less  speculatively  dis- 
posed than  their  neighbors,  were  ready  to  set  down  the  projected 
railways  of  1825  as  mere  bubbles  of  a  similarly  delusive  char- 
acter. 

Among  the  most  remarkable  newspaper  articles  of  the  day 
calling  attention  to  the  application  of  the  locomotive  engme  to 
the  purposes  of  rapid  steam  traveling  on  railroads,  was  a  series 
which  appeared  in  1824,  in  the  Scotsman  newspaper,*  then 
edited  by  Charles  Maclaren.  In  those  pubUcations  the  wonder- 
ful powers  of  the  locomotive  were  logically  demonstrated,  and 
the  writer,  arguing  from  the  experiments  on  friction,  made  more 
than  half  a  century  before,  by  Vince  and  Colomb,  which  scien- 
tific men  seemed  to  have  altogether  lost  sight  of,  clearly  showed 
that,  by  the  use  of  steam-power  on  railroads,  the  more  rapid,  as 
well  as  cheaper  transit  of  persons  and  merchandise  might  be  con- 
fidently anticipated.  The  important  experiments  referred  to  had 
demonstrated  that  friction  upon  roads  is  the  same  at  all  velocities. 
Dr.  Young  had,  indeed,  in  referring  to  these  experiments,  as  early 

*  The  able  articles  referred  to  were  published  in  December,  1824,  and  were  republished, 
or  extensively  quoted,  in  most  of  the  English  newspapers.  They  were  also  translated 
into  French  and  German,  and  reprinted  in  the  United  Stotes. 


SPECULATIONS  AS  TO  RAILROAD  SPEED.      207 

as  1807,*  made  use  of  the  following  prophetic  words :  "  It  is 
possible  that  roads  paved  with  u'on  may  be  hereafter  employed 
for  the  purpose  of  expeditious  traveling,  since  there  is  scarcely 
any  resistance  to  be  overcome  except  that  of  the  air ;  and  such 
roads  will  allow  the  velocity  to  be  increased  almost  without  limit." 
Mr.  Maclaren,  after  going  carefully  into  the  questions  of  grav- 
ity, resistance,  friction  and  other  impediments  to  motion  upon  a 
road,  proceeded  to  prove  by  fair  inferences,  clearly  argued  out, 
"that  were  railways  to  come  mto  general  use,  two-thirds  or  more 
of  the  expense  of  transporting  commodities  would  be  saved. 
After  anticipating  that  an  average  velocity  of  tAventy  miles  an 
hour  would  be  secured  on  railways  at  very  little  more  cost  than 
a  velocity  of  one  mile,  and  that  it  must  be  left  to  the  engineer  to 
find  out  the  best  means  of  ffivin";  eifect  to  the  truths  thus  demon- 
strated,  the  writer  went  on  to  say — "We  are  afraid  that  some 
practical  men  will  be  disposed  to  treat  these  propositions  as  mat- 
ter of  idle  and  profitless  speculation.     But  we  confess  that  this 

does  not  abate  our  confidence  in  their  truth The 

application  of  the  laws  of  friction  to  the  motion  of  carriages  on 
railways  has  scarcely  ever  been  investigated.  Yet  the  subject 
is  of  vast  importance,  and  the  results  are  extraordinary.  Among 
all  the  new  projects  and  inventions  with  which  this  age  teems, 
there  is  certainly  not  one  which  opens  up  such  a  boundless  pros- 
pect of  improvement,  as  the  general  introduction  of  railways  for 
the  purpose  of  commercial  communication.  "We  have  spoken  of 
vehicles  traveling  at  20  miles  an  hour ;  but  we  see  no  reason  for 
thinking  that,  in  the  pi'Ogress  of  improvement,  a  much  higher 
velocity  might  not  be  found  practicable.  Tiberius  traveled  200 
miles  in  two  days,  and  this  was  reckoned  an  extraordinary  effort ; 
but  in  twenty  years  hence,  a  shopkeeper  or  mechanic,  on  the 
most  ordinary  occasion,  may  probably  travel  with  a  speed  that 
would  leave  the  fleetest  courser  behind." 

*  Dr.  Young's  Lectures  on  Natural  Philosophy. 


208  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

Little  more  than  five  years  passed  before  these  anticipations, 
sanguine  and  speculative  though  they  were  regarded  at  the  time, 
were  amply  realized.  And  yet  even  ]VIr.  Nicholas  Wood,*  in 
1825,  speaking  of  the  powers  of  the  locomotive,  and  referring 
doubtless  to  the  speculations  of  the  Scotsman  as  well  as  of  his 
equally  sanguine  friend  Stephenson,  observed :  "  It  is  far  from 
my  wish  to  promulgate  to  the  world  that  the  ridiculous  expecta- 
tions, or  rather  professions,  of  the  enthusiastic  speculator  will  be 
realized,  and  that  we  shall  see  engines  traveling  at  the  rate  of 
twelve,  sixteen,  eighteen,  or  twenty  miles  an  hour.  Nothing 
could  do  more  harm  towards  their  general  adoption  and  improve- 
ment than  the  promulgation  of  such  nonsense." 

Indeed,  when  Mr.  Stephenson,  at  the  consultation  of  counsel 
previous  to  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  bill  going  into  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons,  confidently  stated  his  expecta- 
tion of  being  able  to  impel  his  locomotive  at  the  rate  of  twenty 
miles  an  hour,  Mr.  William  Brougham,  who  was  retained  by  the 
promoters  to  conduct  their  case,  frankly  told  him,  that  if  he  did 
not  moderate  his  views,  and  bring  his  engine  within  a  reasonahle 
speed,  he  would  "  inevitably  damn  the  whole  thing,  and  be  him- 
self regarded  as  a  maniac  fit  for  Bedlam."  f 

The  idea  of  traveling  at  a  rate  of  speed  double  that  of  the 
fastest  mail-coach,  appeared  at  that  time  so  preposterous  that 
Mr.  Stephenson  was  unable  to  find  any  engineer  who  would  risk 
his  reputation  in  supporting  his  "  absurd  views."  Speaking  of 
his  isolation  at  this  time,  he  subsequently  observed,  at  a  public 
meeting  of  railway  men  in  Manchester :  "  He  remembered  the 
time  when  he  had  very  few  supporters  in  bringing  out  the  rail- 
way system  —  when  he  sought  England  over  for  an  engineer  to 
support  him  in  his  evidence  before  Parliament,  and  could  find 

*  A  Practical  Treatise  on  Railroads.  By  Nicholas  Wood,  Collier  Viewer,  C.  E.  Lon- 
don: Hurst,  Chance  &  Co. 

t  Mr.  John  Dixon,  engineer  of  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway,  then  Mr.  Stephen- 
son's assistant,  relates  the  above  circumstance. 


ARTICLE  IX  THE  "  QUARTERLY."         209 

only  one  man,  James  Walker,  but  was  afraid  to  call  that  gentle- 
man, because  he  knew  nothmg  about  railways.  He  had  then  no 
one  to  tell  his  tale  to  but  Mr.  Sandars  of  Liverpool,  who  did 
listen  to  him,  and  kept  his  sj^irits  up ;  and  his  schemes  had  at 
length  been  carried  out  only  by  dint  of  sheer  perseverance."  * 

George  Stephenson's  idea  was  indeed  at  that  time  regarded 
as  but  the  dream  of  a  chimerical  projector.  It  stood  before  the 
public  friendless,  struggling  hard  to  gain  a  footing,  but  scarcely 
daring  to  lift  itself  into  notice  for  fear  of  ridicule.  The  civil  en- 
gineers generally  re:jected  the  notion  of  a  Locomotive  Railway ; 
and  when  no  leading  man  of  the  day  could  be  found  to  stand 
forward  in  support  of  the  Ivillingworth  mechanic,  its  chances  of 
success  must  have  been  pronounced  small.  But,  Hke  all  great 
truths,  the  time  was  surely  to  come  when  it  was  to  prevail. 

When  such  was  the  hostility  of  the  civil  engineers,  no  wonder 
the  reviewers  were  puzzled.  The  Quarterly,^  in  an  able  article 
in  support  of  the  projected  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway — 
while  admitting  its  absolute  necessity,  and  insisting  that  there  was 
no  choice  left  but  a  raih-oad,  on  which  the  journey  between  Liv- 
erpool and  Manchester,  Avhether  performed  by  hoi'ses  or  engines, 
would  always  be  accomplished  "  within  the  day" — nevertheless 
scouted  the  idea  of  traveling  at  a  greater  speed  than  eight  or  nine 

*  Speech  of  Mr.  Stephenson  at  a  meeting  held  in  Manchester  on  the  15th  of  June,  1847, 
to  present  a  service  of  plate  to  J.  P.  AVesthead,  Esq.,  chairman  of  the  Manchester  and 
Birmingham  RaUway  Co. 

Mr.  Stephenson  did  not  hesitate  to  speak  freely  to  his  intimate  friends  of  the  high 
speeds  Tvhich  he  anticipated  securing  on  railways  by  means  of  his  improved  engines.  At 
a  dinner  given  to  his  son,  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson,  on  the  presentation  of  a  testimonial 
from  the  contractors  on  the  London  and  Birmingham  Railway,  on  the  16th  November, 
1839,  Mr.  Biddulph  related  the  following  circumstance:  "  lie  could  well  recollect  the 
time  -when  railroads,  and,  indeed,  all  plans  for  speedy  communication,  were  treated  as 
chimerical ;  and  he  recollected  a  conversation  he  had  had  with  Mr.  George  Stephenson, 
■which,  although  perhaps  that  gentleman  had  forgotten  it,  he  (Mr.  Biddulph)  had  not. 
Mr.  Stephenson  on  that  occasion  observed,  '  AVhatcver  may  be  said  of  horses  or  dogs 
racing,  what  comparison  could  there  be  between  that  and  seeing  an  engine  flying  across 
the  country  with  more  than  a  hundred  people  in  its  train,  at  a  far  greater  speed  than 
either  the  fleetest  horses  or  dogs  could  run?'  " 

t  Quarterly  Review,  for  March,  1825. 

14 


210  LIFE  OF   GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

miles  an  liour.  "  We  are  not  the  advocates,"  said  the  reviewer, 
"  for  visionary  projects  that  interfere  with  useful  establishments  ; 
we  scout  the  idea  of  a  general  railroad  as  altogether  impractica- 
ble, or  as  one,  at  least,  which  will  be  rendered  nugatory  in  lines 
where  the  traffic  is  so  small  that  the  receipts  would  scarcely  pay 
for  the  consumption  of  coals.  .  .  .  The  gross  exaggerations  of 
the  powers  of  the  locomotive  engine,  or,  to  speak  in  plain  English, 
the  steam-carriage,  may  delude  for  a  time,  but  must  end  in  the 
mortification  of  those  concerned."  Adverting  to  a  project  for 
forming  a  railway  to  Woolwich,  by  which  passengers  were  to  be 
drawn  by  locomotive  engines,  moving  with  twice  the  velocity  and 
with  greater  safety  than  ordinary  coaches,  the  reviewer  proceed- 
ed:  —  "  What  can  be  more  palpably  absurd  and  ridiculous  than 
the  prospect  held  out  of  locomotives  traveling  twice  as  fast  as 
stage-coaches  !  We  should  as  soon  expect  the  people  of  Wool- 
wich to  sufier  themselves  to  be  fired  off  upon  one  of  Congreve's 
ricochet  rockets,  as  trust  themselves  to  the  mercy  of  such  a 
machine  going  at  such  a  rate.  We  will  back  old  Father  Thames 
against  the  Woolwich  Railway  for  any  sum.  We  trust  that 
Parliament  will,  in  all  railways  it  may  sanction,  limit  the  speed 
to  eight  or  nine  miles  an  hour,  which  we  entirely  agree  with  Mr. 
Sylvester  is  as  great  as  can  be  ventured  on  with  safety." 

The  article  in  the  Quarterly,  in  which  these  passages  occur, 
was  nevertheless  an  able  argument  in  favor  of  the  formation  of 
the  proposed  railway  from  Liverpool  to  Manchestex\  It  de- 
nounced the  monopoly  of  the  carriage  of  merchandise  between 
the  two  towns,  attempted  to  be  upheld  by  the  canal  companies — 
argued  against  their  so-called  "  vested  rights,"  which,  it  averred, 
could  not  stand  for  a  moment  against  the  rights  of  the  million,  if 
it  could  be  shown  that  by  an  improved  application  of  steam  the 
transport  of  goods  can  be  effected  in  a  more  safe,  certain,  expedi- 
tious, and  economical  manner — and  it  also  combated  the  fears  of 
the  landlords  lest  their  property  should  be  injured  by  the  pro- 
posed new  line  of  communication.     '"  It  has  been  said,"  observed 


ARTICLE  IN  THE  "  QUARTERLY."         211 

the  writer,  "  that  an  opposition  to  raih-oads  will  be  made  on  the 
part  of  the  landed  proprietors ;  but  the  absurdity  of  this  is  so 
glaring,  that  it  must  defeat  itself.  Country  gentlemen  may  not 
at  first  see  their  own  interest,  but  their  tenants  will  find  it  out  for 
them ;  they  will  discern  immediately  the  advantage  which  a 
railroad  will  confer  along  the  whole  line  of  country  through  which 
it  passes,  by  the  increased  facility  of  sending  their  produce  to 
market,  and  of  receiving  the  objects  of  their  wants  in  return." 

The  article  was  so  strongly  favorable  to  the  proposed  railway, 
that  allegations  were  even  made  by  the  opponents  of  the  bill, 
when  in  committee,  that  the  writer  had  been  bought  by  the  Liv- 
erpool and  Manchester  party;  which  was,  of  course,  a  mere 
license  of  counsel.  The  objections  urged  by  the  reviewer  against 
the  high  speed  attainable  on  railways  —  then  a  mere  matter  of 
speculation  —  were  also  entertained  by  nearly  all  the  practical 
and  scientific  men*  of  the  kingdom,  and  by  the  public  generally. 
Taken  as  a  whole,  the  article  was  most  admirable  and  salutary. 

*  For  instance,  Dr.  Lardner  aflarmed  that  "  carriages  could  not  go  at  any  tiling  like  the 
contemplated  speed  ;  if  driren  to  it,  the  wheels  would  merely  spin  on  their  axles,  and  the 
carriages  would  stand  stock-still." 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

MR.  STEPHENSON    EXAMINED   BEFORE   THE   PARLIAMENTARY   COMMITTEE 
ON  TILE  LIYERPOOL  AND  MANCHESTER  BILL. 

The  Liver};)ool  and  Manchester  Bill  went  into  Committee  of 
the  House  of  Commons  on  the  21st  of  March,  1825.  There  was 
an  extraordinary  ai'ray  of  legal  talent  on  the  occasion,  but  espe- 
cially on  the  side  of  the  opponents  to  the  measure.  Their  Avealth 
and  influence  enabled  them  to  retain  the  ablest  counsel  at  the  bar. 
Mr.  (since  Baron)  Alderson  and  Mr.  Stephenson  appeared  on 
behalf  of  Mrs.  Atherton,  Miss  Byrom,  and  the  Rev.  John  Clowes  ; 
Mr.  (afterwards  Baron)  Parke  appeared  for  Charles  Orell,  Esq., 
and  Sir  W.  Gerrard,  Bart. ;  Mr.  Rose  for  the  Barton  Road 
Trustees ;  Mi'.  JNIacdonnell  and  Mr.  Harrison  for  the  Duke  of 
Bridgewater's  Trustees ;  Mr.  (afterwards  Baron)  Erie  for  the 
Mersey  and  Irwell  Navigation  Company ;  and  Mr.  Cullen  for  the 
Leeds  and  Liverpool  Canal  Company.  These  gentlemen  made 
common  cause  with  each  other  in  their  opposition  to  the  bill,  the 
case  for  which  was  conducted  by  Mr.  Adam,  Mr.  Sergeant 
Spankie,  Mr.  William  Brougham,  and  Mr.  Joy. 

Evidence  was  taken  at  great  length  as  to  the  difficulties  and 
delays  in  forwarding  raw  goods  of  all  kinds  from  Liverpool  to 
Manchester,  as  also  in  the  conveyance  of  manufactured  articles 
from  Manchester  to  Liverpool.  The  evidence  adduced  in  sup- 
port of  the  bill  on  these  grounds  was  overwhelming.  The  utter 
inadequacy  of  the  existing  modes  of  conveyance  to  carry  on  sat- 

C212) 


LIVERPOOL    AND    MANCHESTER    BILL.  213 

isfactorilj  the  large  and  rapidly-growing  trade  between  the  two 
towns  was  fully  i^roved.  But  then  came  the  gist  of  the  promo- 
ters' case — the  evidence  to  prove  the  practicability  of  a  railroad 
to  be  worked  by  locomotive  power,  Mr.  Adam,  in  his  opening 
speech,  referred  to  the  cases  of  the  Hetton  and  the  Killingworth 
railroads,  Avhere  heavy  goods  were  safely  and  economically  trans- 
ported by  means  of  locomotive  engines.  "  None  of  the  tremend- 
ous consequences,"  he  observed,  "  have  ensued  from  the  use  of 
steam  in  land  carriage  that  have  been  stated.  The  horses  have 
not  started,  nor  the  cows  ceased  to  give  their  milk,  nor  have  ladies 
miscarried  at  the  sight  of  these  things  going  forward  at  the  rate 
of  four  miles  and  a  half  an  hour."  Notwithstanding  the  petition 
of  two  ladies,  alleging  the  gx-eat  danger  to  be  apprehended  from 
the  bursting  of  the  boilers  of  such  engines,  he  urged  the  safety  of 
the  high-pressure  engine  when  the  boilers  were  constructed  of 
wrought-iron ;  and  as  to  the  rate  at  M'hich  they  could  travel,  he 
expressed  his  full  conviction  that  such  engines  "  could  supply 
force  to  drive  a  carriage  at  the  rate  of  five  or  six  miles  an  hour." 
The  taking  of  the  evidence  on  the  impediments  thrown  in  the 
way  of  trade  and  commerce  by  the  existing  system  extended  over 
a  month,  and  it  was  the  21st  of  April  before  the  Committee  went 
into  the  engineering  evidence,  which  Avas  the  vital  part  of  the 
question.  Mr.  Rastrick,  then  a  manufacturer  of  steam-engines 
at  Stourbridge,  near  Birmingham,  was  examined  as  to  the  safety 
of  high-pressure  engines.  He  had  made  a  traveling  engine  of 
this  sort  for  Mr.  Trevethick  about  twelve  years  before  (in  1813), 
which  was  exhibited  in  London,  when  a  circular  railroad  was 
laid  down,  and  the  engine  was  run  against  a  horse  for  a  wager. 
He  had  also  seen  the  locomotive  engines  of  Mr.  Stephenson  at 
work  on  the  Killingworth  and  Hetton  railroads.  He  had  exam- 
ined them  together  with  Mr.  Cubitt,  Mr.  James  Walker,  Mr. 
Sylvester,  and  others,  and  was  satisfied  of  their  applicability  to 
the  purposes  of  railway  traction.  He  described  to  the  Committee 
the  proper  form  of  the  boiler,  and  the  arrangement  of  the  valves. 


214  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHEXSOX. 

SO  as  to  secure  complete  safety  in  the  working  of  the  locomotive. 
He  was  of  opinion  that  such  an  engine  might  be  constructed  as 
would  take  forty  tons'  weight,  at  the  rate  of  six  miles  an  hour, 
with  perfect  ease  and  safety. 

On  the  25th  of  April,  Mr.  George  Stephenson  was  called  into 
the  witness-box.  It  was  his  first  appearance  before  a  Committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  he  well  knew  what  he  had  to 
expect.  He  was  aware  that  the  whole  force  of  the  opposition 
was  to  be  directed  against  him ;  and  if  they  could  break  down 
his  evidence,  the  canal  monopoly  might  yet  be  upheld  for  a  time. 
Many  years  afterwards,  when  looking  back  at  his  position  on  this 
trying  occasion,  he  said : — "  When  I  went  to  Liverpool  to  plan  a 
line  from  thence  to  Manchester,  I  pledged  myself  to  the  directors 
to  attain  a  speed  of  ten  miles  an  hour.  I  said  I  had  no  doubt 
the  locomotive  might  be  made  to  go  much  faster,  but  that  we  had 
better  be  moderate  at  the  beginning.  The  directors  said  I  was 
quite  right ;  for  that  if,  when  they  went  to  Parliament.  I  talked 
of  going  at  a  greater  rate  than  ten  miles  an  hour,  I  should  put  a 
cross  upon  the  concern.  It  was  not  an  easy  task  for  me  to  keep 
the  engine  down  to  ten  miles  an  hour,  but  it  must  be  done,  and  I 
did  my  best.  I  had  to  place  myself  in  that  most  unpleasant  of 
all  positions — the  witness-box  of  a  Pai'liamentary  Committee.  I 
was  not  long  in  it,  before  I  began  to  wish  for  a  hole  to  creep  out 
at !  I  could  not  find  words  to  satisfy  either  the  Committee  or 
myself.  I  was  subjected  to  the  cross-examination  of  eight  or  ten 
barristers,  purposely,  as  far  as  possible,  to  bewilder  me.  Some 
member  of  the  Committee  asked  if  I  was  a  foreigner,  and  an- 
other  hinted  that  I  was  mad.  But  I  put  up  with  every  rebuflF, 
and  went  on  with  my  plans,  determined  not  to  be  put  down."  * 

Mr.  Stephenson  stood  before  the  Committee  to  prove  what  the 
public  opinion  of  that  day  held  to  be  impossible.  The  self-taught 
mechanic  had  to  demonstrate  the  practicability  of  accomplishing 
that  which  the  most  distinguished  engineers  of  the  time  regarded 

*  Speech  at  Newcastle  on  the  opening  of  the  Newcastle  and  Darliugton  Railway. 


EXAMINATION    IN    COMMITTEE.  215 

as  impracticable.  Clear  though  the  subject  was  to  himself,  and 
familiar  as  he  was  with  the  powers  of  the  locomotive,  it  was  no 
easy  task  for  him  to  bring  home  his  convictions,  or  even  to  con- 
vey his  meaning,  to  the  less  informed  minds  of  his  hearers.  In 
his  strong  Northumbrian  dialect,  he  struggled  for  an  utterance, 
in  the  face  of  the  sneers,  interruptions,  and  ridicule  of  the  oppo- 
nents of  the  measure,  and  even  of  the  Committee,  some  of  whom 
shook  their  heads  and  whispered  doubts  as  to  his  sanity,  when  he 
energetically  avowed  that  he  could  make  the  locomotive  go  at  the 
rate  of  twelve  miles  an  hour !  It  was  so  grossly  in  the  teeth  of 
all  the  experience  of  honorable  members,  that  the  man  must 
certainly  be  laboring  under  a  delusion  ! 

And  yet  his  large  experience  of  railways  and  locomotives,  as 
described  by  himself  to  the  Committee,  entitled  this  "  untaught, 
inarticulate  genius,"  as  he  has  so  well  been  styled,  to  speak  with 
confidence  on  such  a  subject.  Beginning  with  his  experience  as 
brakesman  at  Killingworth  in  1803,  he  went  on  to  state  that  he 
had  been  appointed  to  take  the  entire  charge  of  the  steam-engines 
in  1813,  and  superintended  the  railroads  connected  with  the  nu- 
merous collieries  of  the  Grand  Allies  from  that  time  downwards. 
He  had  laid  down  or  superintended  the  railways  at  Borrertown, 
Mount  Moor,  Spring  Darlington,  Bedington,  Hetton  and  Darling- 
ton, besides  improving  those  of  Killingworth,  South  Moor  and 
Derwent  Brook.  He  had  constructed  fifty-five  steam-engines, 
of  which  sixteen  were  locomotives.  Some  of  these  had  been 
sent  to  France.  The  only  accident  that  had  occurred  to  any  of 
these  engines  w^as  on  the  occasion  of  the  tubes  in  one  of  them 
wearing  out,  by  which  a  man  and  boy  were  slightly  scalded. 
The  engines  constructed  by  him  for  the  working  of  the  Killing- 
worth  liaikoad,  eleven  years  before,  had  continued  steadily  at 
work  ever  since,  and  fulfilled  his  most  sanguine  expectations. 
He  was  prepared  to  prove  the  safety  of  w^orking  high-pressure 
locomotives  on  a  railroad,  and  the  superiority  of  this  mode  of 
transporting  goods  over  all  others.     As  to  speed,  he  said  he  had 


216  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

recommended  eight  miles  an  hour  with  twenty  tons,  and  four 
miles  an  hour  with  forty  tons ;  but  he  was  quite  confident  that 
much  more  might  be  done.  Lideed,  he  had  no  doubt  they  might 
go  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles. 

As  to  the  charge  that  locomotives  on  a  raili'oad  would  so  ter- 
rify the  horses  in  the  neighborhood,  that  to  travel  on  horseback 
or  to  plov,'  the  adjoining  fields  would  be  rendered  highly  danger- 
ous, the  witness  said  that  horses  learnt  to  take  no  notice  of  them, 
though  there  were  horses  that  would  shy  at  a  wheelbarrow.  A 
mail-coach  was  likely  to  be  more  shied  at  by  horses  than  a  loco- 
motive. In  the  neighborhood  of  Ivillingworth,  the  cattle  in  the 
fields  went  on  grazing  while  the  engines  passed  them,  and  the 
farmers  made  no  complaints. 

Mr.  Alderson,  who  had  carefully  studied  the  subject,  and  was 
well  skilled  in  practical  science,  subjected  the  witness  to  a  pro- 
tracted and  severe  cross-examination  as  to  the  speed  and  power 
of  the  locomotive,  the  strokes  of  the  engine,  the  slipping  of  the 
wheels  upon  the  rails,  and  various  other  points  of  detail.  Mr. 
Stephenson  insisted  that  no  slipping  took  place,  as  attempted  to 
be  extorted  from  him  by  the  counsel.  He  said :  "  It  is  impossi- 
ble for  slipping  to  take  place  so  long  as  the  adhesive  weight  of 
the  wheel  upon  the  rail  is  greater  than  the  weight  to  be  dragged 
after  it."  There  was  a  good  deal  of  interruption  to  the  witness's 
answers  by  Mr.  Alderson,  to  Avhich  Mr.  Joy  more  than  once  ob- 
jected. As  to  accidents,  Mr.  Stephenson  knew  of  none  that  had 
occurred  with  his  engines.  There  had  been  one,  he  was  told,  at 
the  Middleton  Colliery,  near  Leeds,  w^ith  a  Blenkinsop  engine. 
The  driver  had  been  in  liquor,  and  had  put  a  considerable  load 
on  the  safety  valve,  so  that  upon  going  forward  the  engine  blew 
up,  and  the  man  was  killed.  But  he  added,  that  if  proper  pre- 
cautions had  been  used  with  that  boiler  the  accident  could  not 
have  happened.  The  following  cross-examination  occurred  in 
reference  to  the  question  of  speed : 

"  Of  course"  (he  was  asked),  "  when  a  body  is  moving  upon  a 


EXAMINATION    IN    COMMITTEE.  217 

road,  the  greatei*  the  velocity  the  greater  the  momentum  that  is 
generated  ? "  "  Certainly." — "  What  would  be  the  momentum 
of  forty  tons  moving  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles  an  hour?"  "It 
would  be  very  great." — ''  Have  you  seen  a  raih-oad  that  would 
stand  that?"  "  Yes."— "  Where ? "  "  Any  railroad  that  would 
bear  going  four  miles  an  hour :  I  mean  to  say,  that  if  it  would 
bear  the  weight  at  four  miles  an  hour,  it  would  bear  it  at  twelve." 
— "  Taking  it  at  four  miles  an  hour,  do  you  mean  to  say  that  it 
would  not  require  a  stronger  railway  to  carry  the  same  weight 
twelve  miles  an  hour ? "  "I  will  give  an  answer  to  that.  I  dare 
say  every  person  has  been  over  ice  when  skating,  or  seen  persons 
go  over,  and  they  know  that  it  would  bear  them  at  a  gi*eater 
velocity  than  it  would  if  they  went  slower ;  when  it  goes  quick, 
the  weight  in  a  measure  ceases." — "  Is  not  that  upon  the  hypothe- 
sis that  the  railroad  is  perfect?"  "  It  is  ;  and  I  mean  to  make  it 
perfect"  * 

]Mr.  Alderson  next  cross-examined  the  witness  on  the  dangers 
of  curves.  "  Do  not  wrought-iron  rails  bend ;  take  Hetton  Col- 
liery for  instance?"  "They  are  wrought-iron,  but  they  are 
weak  rails." — "  Do  you  not  know  that  those  bend?"  "Perhaps 
they  may  bend,  not  being  made  sufficiently  strong." — "  And  if 
they  are  made  sufficiently  strong,  that  will  involve  an  additional 
expense?"  "It  will." — "Then  if  you  were  to  make  them  of 
adamant,  that  would  be  very  expensive?"  "It  does  not  require 
a  very  great  expense  to  make  them  strong  enough  for  heavier 
work  ;  I  mean  the  difference  between  making  them  for  easy  work 
and  heavy  work  is  not  great." — "  You  say  that  the  machine  can 
go  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles  an  hour ;  suppose  there  is  a  turn 
on  the  road — what  will  become  of  the  machine  ?"  "  It  would  g-o 
round  the  turn." — "Would  it  not  go  straight  forward?"  "No." 
— "  What  is  to  be  the  plan  of  the  road,  and  the  height  of  the 
rail?"  "That  has  nothing  to  do  with  it." — "I  ask  you,  what  is 
to  be  the  height  of  the  flanch  of  the  wheel  ?"    "One  and  a  quarter 

*  ETidence,  p.  203. 


218  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

inch.'' — "  Then  if  the  rail  bends  to  the  extent  of  an  inch  and  a 
quarter,  it  will  go  off  the  rail  ? "  "  It  cannot  bend  ;  I  know  it  is 
so  in  practice." — "  Did  you  ever  see  forty  tons  going  at  the  rate 
of  twelve  miles  an  hour  ?"  "  No,  I  have  not  seen  it ;  but  I  have 
seen  the  engine  running  from  eight  to  ten  miles  round  a  curve." 
— "What  was  the  weight  moved?"  "I  think  little,  except  the 
engine — the  weight  of  the  engine  itself." — "  Do  you  mean  to  tell 
us  that  no  diffei'ence  is  to  be  made  between  those  forty  tons  after 
the  engine,  and  the  engine  itself?"  "  It  is  scarcely  worth  notice." 
— "  Then,  though  the  encrine  mijjht  run  round,  and  follow  the 
turn,  do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  weight  after  it  would  not  pass 
off?"  "I  have  stated  that  I  never  saw  such  a  weight  move  at 
that  velocity*;  but  I  could  see  at  Killingwortli  that  the  weight 
was  following  the  engines,  and  it  is  a  very  sharp  curve  ;  I  believe 
they  came  down  very  frequently  at  the  velocity  of  fully  ten  miles 
an  hour ;  it  is  a  sharper  curve  there  than  I  should  ever  recom- 
mend to  be  put  on  any  railroad." — "  Have  you  known  a  stage- 
coach overturn  when  making  not  a  very  sharp  curve,  when  going 
very  fast?"  "  That  is  a  different  thing;  it  is  top-heavy." — "  Do 
you  mean  to  say,  none  of  your  wagons  will  be  top-heavy?" 
"  They  will  not ;  perhaps  they  may  get  a  good  deal  of  cotton 
upon  them ;  but  I  should  construct  the  can'iages  so  that  they 
should  not  be  top-heavy.* 

Mr.  Aldei'son  had  so  pressed  the  point  of  "  twelve  miles  a'^ 
hour,"  and  the  promoters  were  so  alarmed  lest  it  should  appear 
in  evidence  that  they  contemplated  any  such  extravagant  rate 
of  speed,  that  immediately  on  Mr.  Alderson  sitting  down,  Mr. 
Joy  proceeded  to  reexamine  Mi*.  Stephenson,  with  the  view  of 
removing  from  the  minds  of  the  Committee  an  impression  so 
unfavorable,  and,  as  they  supposed,  so  damaging  to  their  case. 
"  With  regard,"  asked  Mr.  Joy,  "  to  all  those  hypothetical  ques- 
tions of  my  learned  friend,  they  have  been  all  put  on  the  suppo- 
sition of  going  twelve  miles  an  hour :   now  that  is  not  the  rate  at 

*  E-ridence,  pp.  205-6. 


EXAMINATION    IN    COMMITTEE.  219 

which,  I  believe,  any  of  the  engines  of  which  you  have  spoken 
have  traveled?"  "No,"  replied  Mi-.  Stephenson,  "except  as  an 
experiment  for  a  short  distance." — "  But  what  they  have  gone 
has  been  three,  five,  or  six  miles  an  hour?"  "  Yes." — "  So  that 
those  hypothetical  cases  of  twelve  miles  an  hour  do  not  fall  within 
your  general  experience  ?"     "  They  do  not."  * 

The  Committee  also  seem  to  have  entertained  some  alarm  as 
to  the  high  rate  of  speed  w^hich  had  been  spoken  of,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  examine  the  witness  further  on  the  subject.  They 
supposed  the  case  of  the  engine  being  upset  when  going  at  nine 
miles  an  hour,  and  asked  what,  in  such  a  case,  would  become  of 
the  cargo  astern.  To  which  the  witness  replied,  that  it  would 
not  be  upset.  One  of  the  members  of  the  Committee  pressed  the 
witness  a  little  further.  He  put  the  following  case  :  "  Suppose, 
now,  one  of  these  engines  to  be  going  along  a  railroad  at  the  rate 
of  nine  or  ten  miles  an  hour,  and  that  a  cow  were  to  stray  upon 
the  line  and  get  in  the  way  of  the  engine ;  would  not  that,  think 
you,  be  a  very  awkward  circumstance?"  "Yes,"  replied  the 
witness,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  "  very  awkward  indeed — -for 
the  cool"  The  honorable  member  did  not  proceed  further  with 
his  cross-examination  :  to  use  a  railway  phrase,  he  was  "shunted." 

On  the  following  day  (the  26th  April),  Mr.  Stephenson  was 
subjected  to  a  most  severe  examination.  On  that  part  of  the 
scheme  with  which  he  was  most  practically  conversant,  his  evi- 
dence was  clear  and  conclusive.  Now,  he  had  to  give  evidence 
on  the  plans  made  by  his  surveyors,  and  the  estimates  wliich  had 
been  founded  on  such  plans.  So  long  as  he  was  confined  to 
locomotive  engines  and  iron  railroads,  with  the  minutest  details 
of  which  he  was  more  familiar  than  any  man  living,  he  felt  at 
home,  ajid  in  his  element.  But  when  the  designs  of  bridges  and 
the  cost  of  constructing  them,  the  geological  formation  of  the 
country  and  the  borings  of  the  strata  through  which  the  line 
passed,  the  levels  and  surveys  made  in  detail  by  the  surveyors 

*  Evidence,  p.  207. 


220  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

appointed  by  the  Company,  had  to  be  gone  into,  it  may  well  be 
imagined  that  IMr.  Stephenson,  whose  special  attention  had  been 
little  directed  to  such  subjects,  felt  embarrassed  and  confused  in 
the  face  of  the  array  of  distinguished  counsel  and  engineers  who 
were  now  bent  on  upsetting  his  evidence. 

Mr.  Alderson  cross-examined  him  at  gi-eat  length  on  the  plans 
of  the  bridges,  the  tunnels,  the  crossings  of  the  roads  and  streets, 
and  the  details  of  the  survey,  which,  it  soon  clearly  appeared, 
were  seriously  at  fault.  At  one  part  of  the  line,  the  survey  Avas 
so  far  wrong  that  it  would  be  necessary,  in  crossing  a  road,  to 
work  the  railway,  if  made,  by  means  of  an  inclined  plane.  It 
also  appeared  that,  after  the  plans  had  been  deposited,  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson found  that  a  much  more  favorable  line  might  be  made ; 
and  he  thus  explained  certain  discrepancies  which  appeared  in 
his  estimates  :  —  "  The  plan  being  made  before  I  commenced  my 
estimates,  I  could  not  alter  the  line  then,  but  I  made  my  estimates 
upon  different  data  from  those  on  which  the  plan  was  laid  down, 
when  I  found  a  more  favorable  line  to  go  upon,  and  made  such 
alterations  as  would  not  inconvenience  the  plan.  I  made  my  es- 
timates accordingly,  supposing  that  Parliament  Avould  not  confine 
the  Company  to  the  precise  estimate."  *  The  proposed  formation 
of  the  line  of  railway  over  Chat  Moss  was  also  the  subject  of 
much  cross-examination  —  the  witness  stating  that  it  was  quite 
practicable,  although  it  would  require  time  to  become  consoli- 
dated. 

For  three  entire  days  was  Mr.  Stephenson  subjected  to  this 
cross-examination  by  IVIr.  Alderson,  Mr.  Cullen,  and  the  other 
leading  counsel  for  the  opposition.  He  held  his  ground  bravely, 
and  defended  the  plans  and  estimates  with  consummate  ability 
and  skill ;  but  it  was  clear  they  were  very  imperfect,  and  the 
result  was  on  the  whole  damaging  to  the  bill.  Mr.  (afterwards 
Sir  William)  Cubitt  was  called  by  the  promoters  —  Mr.  Adam 
stating  that  he  proposed  by  this  witness  to  correct  some  of  the 

*  Evidence,  p.  241. 


EXAMINATION   IN    COMMITTEE.  221 

levels  as  given  by  Mr.  Stephenson.  It  seems  a  singular  course 
to  have  been  taken  by  the  promoters  of  the  measure ;  for  Mr. 
Cubitt's  evidence  went  to  upset  the  statements  made  by  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson as  to  the  survey.  This  adverse  evidence  was,  of  course, 
made  the  most  of  by  the  opponents  of  the  bill. 

Mr.  Sergeant  Spankie  then  summed  up  for  the  bill,  on  the  2d 
of  May,  in  a  speech  of  great  length.  Referring  to  the  error  in 
the  levels,  he  said  :  "  Mr.  Stephenson,  by  relying  upon  the  infor- 
mation of  those  who  surveyed  the  levels,  estimated  the  whole 
excavations  and  embankments  at  the  sum  of  87,000/.,  upon  that 
unfavorable  supposition.  It  Avill  be  said  on  the  other  side  that, 
Mr.  Stephenson  having  been  guilty  of  one  error,  the  whole  credit 
of  his  estimate  is  shaken ;  but  the  truth  is,  that  Mr.  Stephenson, 
on  a  datum  given  by  other  persons,  calculated  it  would  cost  so 
much  to  make  the  railway.  Mr.  Stephenson  did  not  commit  his 
general  judgment :  it  is  not  an  error  as  a  matter  of  truth,  but  a 
mere  mistake  of  other  persons ;  and  there  is  no  other  pai't  of  the 
estimate  to  which  a  similar  observation  applies ;  for  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson's estimate,  in  other  respects,  is  founded  upon  what  he 
saw.  Of  all  the  men  who  could  be  examined  in  this  kingdom, 
they  would  not  have  found  any  man  who  had  better  means  to 
make  a  correct  estimate  than  Mr.  Stephenson ;  the  error  had 
been  wholly  occasioned  by  the  calculations  of  others."  *  With 
reference  to  the  evidence  given  as  to  the  practicability  of  working 
the  railroad  by  the  locomotive  engine.  Sergeant  Spankie  said : 
"Another  part  of  the  scheme  is  —  the  locomotive  engine.  It 
appears,  by  the  most  laboi'ed,  and  ingenious,  and  clever  cross- 
examination  of  Mr.  Rastrick  and  Mr.  Stephenson,  in  such  a  way 
that  the  Committee  must  be  satisfied  that  there  are  no  objections 
to  this  instrument.  It  went  through  its  probation  with  Avonderful 
success,  for  one  has  been  taught  to  consider  those  high-pressure 
engines  as  a  sort  of  bugbear ;  that  they  would  go  off  by  them- 
selves and  blow  us  into  the  air.     It  was  clearly  proved  that  the 

*  Report  and  Evidence,  p.  322. 


222  LIFE  OF   GEOllGE   STEPUENSON. 

machine  went  along  at  the  rate  of  seven  miles  an  hour,  and  that 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  increasing  the  speed." 

The  case  of  the  opponents  to  the  bill  was  then  gone  into,  and 
Mr.  Harrison  opened  with  an  eloquent  speech  on  behalf  of  his 
clients,  Mrs.  Atherton  and  others.     He  indulged  in  the  severest 
vituperation  against  the  witnesses  for  the  bill,  and  especially 
dwelt  upon  the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Cubitt,  for  the  promoters, 
had  proved  that  Mr.  Stephenson's  levels  were  wrong.     "  They 
got  a  person,"  said  he,  "  whose  character  and  skill  I  do  not  dis- 
pute, though  I  do  not  exactly  know  that  I  should  have  gone  to 
the  inventor  of  the  treadmill  as  the  fittest  man  to  take  the  levels 
of  Knowsley  Moss  and  Chat  Moss,  which  shook  almost  as  much 
as  a  treadmill,  as  you  recollect,  for  he  (Mr.  Cubitt)  said  Chat 
Moss  trembled  so  much  under  his  feet  that  he  could  not  take  his 
observations  accurately.    ...    In  fact,  Mr.  Cubitt  did  not  go  to 
the  Chatt  Moss,  because  he  knew  that  it  was  an  immense  mass 
of  pulp,  and  nothing  else.     It  actually  rises  in  height,  from  the 
rain  swelling  it  like  a  sponge,  and  sinks  again  in  dry  weather : 
and  if  a  boring  instrument  is  put  into  it,  it  sinks  immediately  by 
its  own  weight.     The  making  of  an  embankment  out  of  this 
pulpy,  wet  moss,  is  no  very  easy  task.     Who  but  Mr.  Stephen- 
son would  have  thought  of  entering  into  Chat  Moss,  carrying  it 
out  almost  like  wet  dung?     It  is  ignorance  almost  inconceivable. 
It  is  perfect  madness,  in  a  person  called  upon  to  speak  on  a 
scientific  subject,  to  propose  such  a  plan.     .    .    .     Every  part  of 
the  scheme  shows  that  this  man  has  applied  himself  to  a  subject 
of  which  he  has  no  knowledge,  and  to  which  he  has  no  science  to 
apply."  *     Then  adverting  to  the  proposal  to  work  the  proposed 
line  by  means  of  locomotives,  the  learned  gentleman  proceeded : 
"When  we  set  out  with  the  original  prospectus,  we  were  to  gal- 
lop, I  know  not  at  what  rate — I  believe  it  was  at  the  rate  of 
twelve  miles  an  hour.     My  learned  friend,  Mr.  Adam,  contem- 
plated— possibly  alluding  to  Ireland— that  some  of  the  Irish 

*  Report  and  Evidence,  pp.  diQ,  349,  351,  353. 


MR.  Harrison's  speech.  223 

members  would  arrive  in  the  wagons  to  a  division.  My  learned 
friend  says  that  they  would  go  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles  an 
hour  with  the  aid  of  the  devil  in  the  form  of  a  locomotive,  sitting 
as  postilion  on  the  fore  horse,  and  an  honorable  member  sitting 
behind  him  to  stir  up  the  fire,  and  keep  it  at  full  speed.  But  the 
speed  at  which  these  locomotive  engines  are  to  go  has  slackened : 
Mi\  Adam  does  not  go  faster  now  than  five  miles  an  hour.  The 
learned  sergeant  (Spankie)  says  he  should  like  to  have  seven, 
but  he  would  be  content  to  go  six.  I  will  show  he  cannot  go 
six ;  and  probably,  for  any  practical  purposes,  I  may  be  able  to 
show  that  I  can  keep  up  with  him  hy  the  canal.  .  .  .  Locomo- 
tive engines  are  liable  to  be  operated  upon  by  the  weather.  You 
are  told  they  are  effected  by  rain,  and  an  attempt  has  been  made 
to  cover  them ;  but  the  wind  will  afi'ect  them ;  and  any  gale  of 
wind  which  would  affect  the  traffic  on  the  Mersey  would  render 
it  impossible  to  set  ofi"  a  locomotive  engine,  either  by  poking  of 
the  fire,  or  keeping  up  the  pressure  of  the  steam  till  the  boiler 
is  ready  to  burst."  *  How  amusing  it  now  is  to  read  these  ex- 
traordinary views  as  to  the  formation  of  a  railway  over  Chat 
Moss,  and  the  impossibility  of  starting  a  locomotive  engine  in  the 
face  of  a  gale  of  wind  !  The  men  who  then  laughed  at  Stephen- 
son's "mad  projects"  had  but  to  live  a  few  years  longer  to  find 
that  the  laugh  was  all  on  the  other  side. 

Evidence  was  called  to  show  that  the  house  property  passed 
by  the  proposed  railway  would  be  greatly  deteriorated — in  some 
places  almost  destroyed ;  that  the  locomotive  engines  would  be 
terrible  nuisances,  in  consequence  of  the  fire  and  smoke  vomited 
forth  by  them ;  and  that  the  value  of  land  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Manchester  alone  would  be  deteriorated  by  no  less  than 
20,000/. !  t  But  the  opposition  mainly  relied  upon  the  evidence 
of  the  leading  engineers — not,  like  Mr.  vStephenson,  self-taught 
men,  but  regular  professionals.  Mr.  Francis  Giles,  C.  E.,  was 
their  gi-eat  card.     He  had  been  twenty-two  years  an  engineer, 

*  Report  and  Eridence,  p.  354.  t  Evidence,  p.  379. 


224  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

and  could  speak  with  some  authority.  His  testimony  was  mainly 
directed  to  the  utter  impossibility  of  forming  a  railway  over 
Chat  Moss.  "^^0  engineer  in  his  senses,"  said  he,  "would  go 
throu<?h  Chat  Moss  if  he  wanted  to  make  a  railroad  from  Liver- 
pool  to  Manchester."  *  Mr.  Giles  thus  described  this  bottomless 
pit:  "The  surface  of  the  Moss  is  a  sort  of  long,  coarse,  sedgy 
grass,  tough  enough  to  enable  you  to  walk  upon  it,  about  half-leg 
deep  ;  underneath  that,  on  putting  an  iron  into  the  soil  (a  boring- 
rod),  it  will,  with  its  own  weight,  sink  down.  In  the  centre, 
where  this  railroad  is  to  cross,  it  is  all  pulp  from  the  top  to  the 
depth  of  34  feet ;  at  34  feet  there  is  a  vein  of  4  or  6  inches  of 
clay ;  below  that  there  are  2  or  3  feet  of  quicksand ;  and  the  bot- 
tom of  that  is  hard  clay,  which  keeps  all  the  water  in.  The  bor- 
ing-rod will  get  down  to  the  first  vein  of  clay  by  its  own  weight ; 
a  slight  pressure  of  the  hand  will  carry  it  to  the  next  vein  of 
clay ;  a  very  little  pressure  indeed  will  get  it  to  the  additional 
depth  of  2  or  3  feet,  beyond  which  you  must  use  more  pressure 
to  get  it  down  to  the  foundation.  If  this  sort  of  material  were  to 
be  carried,  it  would  greatly  increase  the  expense ;  and  it  would  be 
necessary  to  lay  it  aside,  for  the  purpose  of  draining  and  drying, 
before  any  man  in  his  senses  would  convey  it  along  the  railroad 
for  the  purpose  I  have  been  speaking  of.  ...  In  my  judg- 
ment," (the  judgment  of  Mr.  F.  Giles,  C.  E.,  against  that  of 
the  unprofessional  person  "not  in  his  senses,"  who  proposed  to 
form  the  railroad,) — "in  my  judgment  a  railroad  certainly  can- 
not be  safely  made  over  Chat  Moss  Avithout  going  to  the  bottom 
of  the  Moss.  The  soil  ought  all  to  be  taken  out,  undoubtedly ; 
in  doing  which  it  will  not  be  practicable  to  approach  each  end 
of  the  cutting  as  you  make  it,  with  the  carriages.  No  carriage 
would  stand  upon  the  Moss  short  of  the  bottom.  My  estimate 
for  the  whole  cutting  and  embankment  over  Chat  Moss  is 
270,000?.  nearly,  at  those  quantities  and  those  prices  which  are 

♦Evidence,  p.  386 


EVIDENCE    OF   MR.    PALMER.  225 

decidedly  correct.     ...     It  will  be  necessary  to  take  this  Moss 
completely  out  at  the  bottom,  in  order  to  make  a  solid  road."  * 

Mr.  Henry  Eobinson  Palmer,  C.  E.,  gave  his  evidence  to 
prove  that  resistance  to  a  moving  body  going  under  four  and  a 
quarter  miles  an  hour  was  less  upon  a  canal  than  upon  a  rail- 
road ;  and  that,  when  going  against  a  strong  wind,  the  progress 
of  a  locomotive  was  retarded  "very  much."  Mr.  George  Leather, 
C.  E.,  the  engineer  of  the  Croydon  and  Wandsworth  Railway,  on 
which  he  said  the  wagons  went  at  from  two  and  a  half  to  three 
miles  an  hour,  also  gave  his  evidence  against  the  practicability 
of  Mr.  Stephenson's  plan.  He  considered  his  estimate  a  "very 
wild"  one.  He  had  no  confidence  in  locomotive  power.  The 
Weardale  Railway,  of  which  he  was  engineer,  had  given  up  the 
use  of  locomotive  engines.  He  supposed  that,  when  used,  they 
traveled  at  three  and  a  half  to  four  miles  on  hour,  because  they 
were  considered  to  be  then  more  effective  than  at  a  higher  speed.f 

When  these  distinguished  engineers  had  given  their  evidence, 
Mr.  Alderson  summed  up  in  a  speech  which  extended  over  two 
days.  He  declared  Mr.  Stephenson's  plan  to  be  "the  most  ab- 
surd scheme  that  ever  entered  into  the  head  of  man  to  conceive. 
My  learned  friends,"  said  he,  "almost  endeavored  to  stop  my 
examination ;  they  wished  me  to  put  in  the  plan,  but  I  had 
rather  have  the  exhibition  of  Mr.  Stephenson  in  that  box.  I  say 
he  never  had  a  plan — I  believe  he  never  had  one — I  do  not  be- 
lieve he  is  capable  of  making  one.  His  is  a  mind  perpetually 
fluctuating  between  opposite  difficulties :  he  neither  knows  wheth- 
er he  is  to  make  bridges  over  roads  or  rivers,  of  one  size  or  of 
another;  or  to  make  embankments,  or  cuttings,  or  inclined 
planes,  or  in  what  way  the  thing  is  to  be  carried  into  effect. 
Whenever  a  difficulty  is  pressed,  as  in  the  case  of  a  tunnel,  he 
gets  out  of  it  at  one  end,  and  when  you  try  to  catch  him  at  that, 
he  gets  out  at  the  other."  Mr.  Alderson  proceeded  to  declaim 
against  the  gross  ignorance  of  this  so-called  engineer,  who  pro- 

*  Evidence,  pp.  383-386.  ^  IbiJ   p.  436. 

15 


226  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

posed  to  make  "impossible  ditches  by  the  side  of  an  impossible 
railway"  through  Chat  Moss,  and  he  contrasted  with  his  evidence 
that  given  "by  that  most  respectable  gentleman  we  have  called 
before  you,  I  mean  Mr.  Giles,  who  has  executed  a  vast  number 
of  works,"  etc.  Then  Mr.  Giles's  evidence  as  to  the  impossibility 
of  making  any  railway  over  the  Moss  that  wouLl  stand  short  of 
the  bottom,  was  emphatically  dwelt  upon ;  and  Mr.  Alderson 
proceeded  to  say  :  "  Having  now,  sir,  gone  through  Chat  Moss, 
and  having  shown  that  Mr.  Giles  is  right  in  hi-  principle  when 
he  adopts  a  solid  railway — and  I  care  not  whether  Mr.  Giles  is 
right  or  wrong  in  his  estimate,  for  whether  it  be  effected  by 
means  of  piers  raised  up  all  the  way  for  four  miles  thi-ough  Chat 
Moss,  whether  they  are  to  support  it  on  beams  of  wood  or  by 
erecting  masonry,  or  whether  Mr.  Giles  shall  put  a  solid  bank 
of  earth  through  it — in  all  these  schemes  there  is  not  one  found 
like  that  of  Mr.  Stephenson's,  namely,  to  cut  impossible  drains 
on  the  side  of  this  road  ;  and  it  is  sufficient  for  me  to  suggest  and 
to  show,  that  this  scheme  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  is  impossible  jr 
impracticable,  and  that  no  other  scheme,  if  they  proceed  upon 
this  line,  can  be  suggested  which  will  not  produce  enormous  ex- 
pense. I  think  that  has  been  irrefragably  made  out.  Eveiy  one 
knows  Chat  Moss — every  one  knows  that  Mr.  Giles  speaks  cor- 
rectly when  he  says  the  iron  sinks  immediately  on  its  being  put 
upon  the  surface.  I  have  heard  of  culverts,  which  have  been  put 
upon  the  Moss,  which,  after  having  been  sui'vej^ed  the  day  before, 
have  the  next  morning  disappeared  ;  and  that  f>.  house,  (a  poet's 
house,  who  may  be  supposed  in  the  habit  of  building  castles  even 
in  the  air,)  story  after  story,  as  fast  as  one  is  ad  led,  the  lower 
one  sinks !  There  is  nothing,  it  appears,  excej-t  long  sedgy 
grass,  and  a  little  soil,  to  prevent  its  sinking  into  t^ie  shades  of 
eternal  night.  I  have  now  done,  sir,  with  Chat  Mors,  and  there 
I  leave  this  railroad."  *  Mr.  Alderson,  of  course,  called  upon 
the  Committee  to  reject  the  bill ;  and  he  protested  "afj'^inst  the 

*  Report  and  Evidence,  p.  478. 


EYIDEA^CE    AGAINST   LOCOMOTIVES.  227 

despotism  of  the  Exchange  at  Liverpool  striding  across  the  land 
of  this  country.  I  do  protest,"  he  concluded,  "against  a  measure 
like  this,  supported  as  it  is  by  such  evidence,  and  founded  upon 
such  calculations."  * 

The  case,  however,  was  not  yet  concluded.  IMr.  Stephenson 
(another  of  the  counsel  on  the  same  side)  declined  addressing  the 
Committee,  after  the  speech  of  Mr.  Alderson,  "in  which  he  had 
so  clearly,  so  ably,  and  so  fully  shown  the  utter  impracticability 
of  the  scheme;"  but  the  case  of  the  other  numerous  petitioners 
against  the  biU  still  remained  to  be  gone  into.  "Witnesses  were 
called  to  prove  the  residential  injuiy  which  would  be  caused  by 
the  "intolerable  nuisance"  of  the  smoke  and  fire  from  the  loco- 
motives ;  and  others  to  pi'ove  that  the  price  of  coals  and  iron 
would  "infallibly"  be  greatly  raised  throughout  the  country. 
This  was  part  of  the  case  of  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater's  trustees, 
whose  witnesses  "proved"  many  very  extraordinary  things.  The 
Leeds  and  Liverpool  Coal  Company  were  so  fortunate  as  to  pick 
up  a  witness  from  Hetton,  who  was  ready  to  furnish  some  dam- 
aging evidence  as  to  the  use  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  locomotives  on 
that  railway.  This  was  Mr.  Thomas  Wood,  one  of  the  Hetton 
company's  clerks,  whose  evidence  was  to  the  effect  that  the  loco- 
motives, having  been  found  ineffective,  were  about  to  be  dis- 
continued in  favor  of  fixed  engines.  The  locomotives,  he  said, 
were  greatly  affected  by  the  weather,  and  the  wagons  had  then 
to  be  drawn  on  by  horses.  The  engines  were  also  frequently 
getting  off  the  road,  and  were  liable  to  accident.  The  evidence 
of  this  witness,  incompetent  though  he  was  to  give  an  opinion  on 
the  subject,  and  exaggerated  as  his  statements  were  afterwards 
proved  to  be,  was  made  the  most  of  by  Mr.  Harrison,  when  sum- 
ming up  the  case  of  the  canal  companies.  "At  length,"  he  said, 
"we  have  come  to  this — having  first  set  out  at  twelve  miles  an 
hour,  the  speed  of  these  locomotives  is  reduced  to  six,  and  now 
comes  down  to  two  or  two  and  a-half.     They  must  be  content  to 

♦  Keport  and  Evidence,  p.  485. 


228  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

be  pulled  along  by  horses  and  donkeys ;  and  all  those  fine  prom- 
ises of  galloping  along  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles  an  hour  are 
melted  down  to  a  total  failure — the  foundation  on  which  their 
case  stood  is  cut  from  under  them  completely ;  for  the  Act  of 
Parliament,  the  Committee  will  recollect,  prohibits  any  person 
using  any  animal  power,  of  any  sort,  kind  or  description,  except 
the  projectors  of  the  railway  themselves ;  therefore,  I  say,  that 
the  whole  foundation  on  which  this  project  exists  is  gone."  After 
further  personal  abuse  of  Mr.  Stephenson,  whose  evidence  he 
spoke  of  as  "trash  and  confusion,"  he  closed  the  case  of  the  canal 
companies  on  the  30th  of  May.  Afterwards  Mr.  Adam  replied 
for  the  promoters,  recapitulating  the  principal  points  of  their 
case,  and  vindicating  Mr.  Stephenson  and  the  evidence  which  he 
had  given  before  the  Committee.  Even  Mr.  Adam  himself,  how- 
ever, seemed  to  have  fears  of  the  railway  formation  across  Chat 
Moss,  after  the  positive  evidence  given  by  Mr.  Giles.  "  Suppos- 
ing that  Mr.  Stephenson  is  rash,"  said  he,  "and  I  do  not  deny  it, 
I  say  his  error  is  an  error  from  want  of  caution,  and  not  from 
want  of  knowledge ;  and  he  ought  not  to  be  reproached  with  his 
want  of  knowledge  of  railways,  being  a  man  of  great  practical 
experience" — which  Mr.  Giles  was  not,  as  respected  railways. 
"Will  you  now,"  he  said  to  the  Committee,  in  winding  up  his 
speech,  "will  you  now — when  this  experiment  is  brought  before 
you  and  discussed  so  fully  for  the  first  time,  while  we  are  in  the 
infancy  of  the  application  of  this  most  powerful  agent  for  the 
purpose  of  forming  a  communication  for  goods  throughout  the 
country — will  you  reject  it  because  my  learned  friend,  by  some 
ingenious  objections,  has  endeavored  to  throw  discredit  upon  it  ? 
All  I  ask  you  is,  not  to  crush  it  in  its  infancy.  Let  not  this 
country  have  the  disgrace  of  putting  a  stop  to  that  which,  if 
cherished,  may  ultimately  prove  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  our 
trade  and  commerce,  and  which,  if  we  do  not  adojit  it,  will  be 
adopted  by  our  rivals.  .  .  .  My  learned  friends  appeal  to 
the  Committee  on  the  ground  of  private  rights,  all  of  which  will 


THE    BILL    WITHDRAWN.  229 

be  recognized.  I  appeal  to  you  in  the  name  of  the  two  largest 
towns  in  England,  the  one  as  a  commercial  port  and  the  other 
as  a  commercial  town ;  I  appeal  to  you  in  the  name  of  the  coun- 
try at  large ;  and  I  implore  you  not  to  blast  the  hopes  that  this 
powerful  agent — steam — may  be  called  in  aid  for  the  pui-pose 
of  land  communication ;  only  let  it  have  a  fjxir  trial,  and  these 
little  objections  and  private  prejudices  will,  I  am  quite  sure,  be 
instantly  dispelled." 

The  Committee  then  divided  on  the  preamble,  which  was 
carried  by  a  majority  of  only  one  —  thirty-seven  voting  for  it, 
and  thirty-six  against  it.  The  clauses  were  next  considered ; 
and  on  a  division,  the  first  clause,  empowering  the  company  to 
make  the  railway,  was  lost  by  a  majority  of  nineteen  to  thirteen. 
In  like  manner  the  next  clause,  empowering  the  company  to  take 
land,  was  lost ;  on  which  IMr.  Adam,  on  the  part  of  the  promoters, 
withdrew  the  bill. 

Thus  ended  this  memorable  contest,  which  had  extended  over 
two  months  —  carried  on  throughout  with  great  pertinacity  and 
skill,  especially  on  the  part  of  the  opposition,  who  left  no  stone 
unturned  to  defeat  the  measure.  The  want  of  a  third  line  of 
communication  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester  had  been 
clearly  proved ;  but  the  engineering  evidence  in  support  of  the 
proposed  railway,  having  been  thrown  almost  entirely  upon  Mr. 
Stephenson,  who  fought  this,  the  most  important  part  of  the 
battle,  single-handed,  was  not  brought  out  so  clearly  as  it  would 
have  been  had  he  secured  more  efficient  engineering  assistance — 
which  he  was  not  able  to  do,  as  all  the  engineers  of  eminence  of 
that  day  were  against  the  locomotive  railway.  The  obstacles 
thrown  in  the  way  of  the  survey  by  the  land-owners  and  canal 
companies  also  in  a  great  measure  tended  to  defeat  the  bill. 
From  this  temporary  failure,  however,  the  projectors  drew  a 
valuable  lesson  for  the  future ;  and  when  they  next  appeared 
before  Parliament,  they  were  better  prepared  to  meet  the  obsti- 
nate opposition  both  of  the  canal  companies  and  the  land-owners. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

THE    LIVERPOOL   AXD   MANCHESTER    RAILWAY    BILL   CARRIED,   AND   MR. 
STEPHENSON   APPOINTED   ENGINEER. 

The  result  of  this  first  application  to  Parliament  was  so  far 
discouraging.  Mr.  Stephenson  had  been  so  terribly  abused  by 
the  leading  counsel  for  the  opposition  in  the  course  of  the  pro- 
ceedings before  the  Committee  —  stigmatized  by  them  as  an 
ignoramus,  a  fool,  and  a  maniac — that  even  his  friends  seem  for 
a  time  to  have  lost  faith  in  him  and  in  the  locomotive  system, 
whose  efficiency  he  continued  to  u2)hold.  Things  never  looked 
blacker  for  the  success  of  the  railway  system  than  at  the  close  of 
this  great  parliamentary  struggle.  And  yet  it  was  on  the  very 
eve  of  its  triumph.  The  absolute  necessity  for  a  new  line  of 
communication  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester  had  been 
proved  beyond  all  doubt;  and  the  Committee  of  Directors  ap- 
pointed to  watch  the  measure  in  Parliament  were  so  determined 
to  press  on  the  project  of  a  railway,  even  though  it  should  have 
to  be  worked  merely  by  horse  power,  that  the  bill  had  scarcely 
been  defeated,  ere  they  met,  in  London,  to  consider  their  next 
step. 

They  called  their  parliamentary  friends  together  to  consult  as 
to  their  future  proceedings.  Among  those  who  attended  the 
meeting  of  gentlemen  with  this  object,  in  the  Royal  Hotel,  St. 
James  Street,  on  the  4th  of  June,  were  Mr.  Huskisson,  Mr. 
Spring  Rice,  and  General  Gascoyne.     Mr.  Huskisson  urged  the 

(230) 


THE    NEW    SURVEY.  231 

promoters  to  renew  their  application  to  Parliament.  They  had 
secured  the  first  step  hy  the  passing  of  their  preamble ;  the 
measure  was  of  great  public  importance ;  and  whatever  tempo- 
rary opposition  it  might  meet  with,  he  conceived  that  Parliament 
must  ultimately  give  its  sanction  to  the  undertaking.  Similar 
views  wei-e  expressed  by  other  speakers;  and  the  deputation 
went  back  to  Liverpool  determined  to  renew  their  application  to 
Parliament  in  the  ensuing  session. 

It  was  not  considered  desirable  to  employ  Mr.  Stephenson  in 
making  the  new  survey.    He  had  not  as  yet  established  his  repu- 
tation as  an  engineer  beyond  the  boundaries  of  his  own  county ; 
and  the  promoters  of  the  bill  had  doubtless  felt  the  disadvantages 
of  this  in  the  coarse  of  their  parliamentary  struggle.    They  there- 
fore resolved  now  to  employ  engineers  of  the  highest  established 
reputation,  as  well  as  the  best  surveyors  that  could  be  obtained. 
In  accordance  with  these  views,  they  engaged  Messrs.  George 
and  John  Rennie  to  be  the  engineers  of  the  railway ;  and  Mr. 
Ciiai-les  VignoUes,  on  their  behalf,  was  appointed  to  prepare  the 
plans  and   sections.     The   line  which  was    eventually  adopted 
difi'ered   somewhat  from  that  surveyed   by  Mr.  James  and  Mr. 
Stephenson  —  entirely   avoiding    Lord    Sefton's    property,   and 
passing  through  only  a  fcAv  detached  fields  of  Lord  Derby's  at  a 
considerable  distance  from  the  Knowsley  domain.    The  principal 
game  preserves  of  the  district  were  carefully  avoided.     Tlie  pro- 
moters thus  hoped  to  get  rid  of  the  opposition  of  the  most  influ- 
ential of  the  resident  land-owners.    The  crossing  of  certain  of  the 
streets  of  Liverpool  was  also  avoided,  and  the  entrance  contrived 
by  means  of  a  tunnel  and  inclined  plane.     The  new  line  stopped 
short  of  the  river  Irwell  at  the  Manchester  end,  and  thus  in  some 
measure  removed  the  objections  grounded  on  an  illegal  interrup- 
tion to  the  canal  or  river  traffic.     With  reference  to  the  use  of 
the  locomotive  engine,  the  promoters,  remembering  with  what 
effect  the  objections  to  it  had  been  urged  by  the  opi^onents  of  the 
measure,  intimated,  in  their  second  prospectus,  that  "  as  a  guar- 


232  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPIIEXSON. 

antee  of  their  good  faith  towards  the  public  they  will  not  require 
any  clause  empowering  them  to  use  it ;  or  they  will  submit  to 
such  restrictions  in  the  employment  of  it  as  Parliament  may 
impose,  for  the  satisfaction  and  ample  protection  both  of  proprie- 
tors on  the  line  of  road  and  of  the  public  at  huge."  * 

It  was  found  that  the  capital  required  to  form  the  line  of  rail- 
way, as  laid  out  by  the  JNIessrs.  Rennie,  was  considerably  beyond 
the  amount  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  estimate  ;  and  it  became  a  ques- 
tion with  the  Committee  in  what  way  the  new  capital  should  be 
raised.  A  proposal  was  made  to  the  Marquis  of  StaiFord,  who 
was  principally  interested  in  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater's  Canal, 
to  become  a  shareholder  in  the  railway.  A  similar  proposal,  it 
will  be  remembered,  had  at  an  earlier  period  been  made  to  Mr. 
Bradshaw,  the  trustee  for  the  property ;  but  his  answer  was  "  all 
or  none,"  and  the  negotiation  was  broken  off.  The  Marquis  of 
Stafford,  however,  now  met  the  projectors  of  the  railway  in  a 
more  conciliatory  spirit ;  and  it  was  ultimately  agreed  that  he 
should  become  a  subscriber  to  the  extent  of  1000  shares. 

The  survey  of  the  new  line  having  been  completed,  the  plans 
were  deposited,  the  standing  orders  duly  complied  with,  and  the 
bill  went  into  Committee.  The  same  counsel  appeared  for  the 
promoters ;  but  the  examination  of  witnesses  was  not  nearly  so 
protracted  as  on  the  previous  occasion.  Mr.  Erie  and  Mr. 
Harrison  led  the  case  of  the  opposition.  The  bill  went  into 
Committee  on  the  6th  of  March;  and  on  the  IGth  the  preamble 
Avas  declared  proved  by  a  majority  of  forty-three  to  eighteen. 
On  the  third  reading  in  the  House  of  Commons,  an  animated,  and 
what  now  appears  a  very  amusing,  discussion  took  place.  The 
Hon.  Edward  Stanley  moved  that  the  bill  be  read  that  day  six 
months ;  and  in  the  course  of  his  speech  he  undertook  to  prove 
that  the  railway  trains  would  take  ten  hours  on  the  journey,  and 
that   they  could   only  be  worked  by  horses.     Sir  Isaac  Coffin 

*  An  Account  of  the  Liverpool  an<l  Manchester  Railway.     By  Henry  Booth,  Treasurer 
to  thi  Company.     Liverpool :  Wales  and  Baines. 


SIR   ISAAC    coffin's    SPEECH.  233 

seconded  the  motion,  and  in  doing  so  denounced  tlie  project  as  a 
most  flagrant  imposition.  He  would  not  consent  to  see  widows' 
premises  invaded ;  and  "  how,"  he  asked,  in  the  most  dignified 
senatorial  mannei',  "  how  Avould  any  person  like  to  have  a  rail- 
road under  his  parlor  window  ?  .  .  .  AVhat,  he  would  like 
to  know,  was  to  be  done  with  all  those  who  had  advanced  money 
in  making  and  repairing  turnpike-roads?  AVhat  with  those  who 
may  still  wish  to  travel  in  their  own  or  hired  carriages,  after  the 
fashion  of  their  forefathers  ?  "What  Avas  to  become  of  coach- 
makers  and  harness-makers,  coach-masters  and  coachmen,  inn- 
keepers, horse-breeders,  and  horse-dealers?  Was  the  House 
aware  of  the  smoke  and  the  noise,  the  hiss  and  the  whirl,  which 
locomotive  engines,  passing  at  the  rate  of  ten  or  twelve  miles  an 
hour,  would  occasion  ?  Neither  the  cattle  plowing  in  the  fields 
or  grazing  in  the  meadows  could  behold  them  without  dismay. 
.  .  .  Iron  would  be  raised  in  price  100  per  cent.,  or,  more 
probably,  exhausted  altogether !  It  would  be  the  greatest  nuis- 
ance, the  most  complete  disturbance  of  quiet  and  comfort  in  all 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  that  the  ingenuity  of  man  could  invent!" 

Mr.  Huskisson  and  other  speakers,  though  unable  to  reply  to 
such  arguments  as  these,  strongly  supported  the  bill;  and  it 
passed  the  third  reading  by  a  majority  of  eighty-eight  to  forty- 
one. 

The  bill  passed  the  House  of  Lords  almost  unanimously,  the 
only  opponents  being  the  Earl  of  Derby  and  his  relative  the  Earl 
of  Wilton.  "  The  evidence  on  both  sides,"  says  Mr.  Booth,  "  Avas 
similar  in  effect  to  that  offered  in  the  House  of  Commons.  On 
the  subject  of  the  locomotive  engine,  however — a  machine  which 
had  been  represented  to  the  House  of  Commons  in  so  formidable. 
a  light — evidence  was  brought  forward  by  the  opponents  of  the 
bill ;  but  so  poor  a  case  was  made,  and  so  little  objectionable  did 
the  engine  appear  to  be,  even  from  the  testimony  of  the  opponents, 
that  the  Lords  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  have  any  evidence 
on  the  other  side,  although  it  was  tendered  by  the  counsel  for  the 


234  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

bill."  *  The  cost  of  obtaining  the  Act  amounted  to  tlie  enomious 
sum  of  27,000/. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  directors  of  the  Company  at  Liver- 
pool, the  selection  of  a  principal  engineer  was  taken  into  consid- 
eration. The  magnitude  of  the  proposed  works,  and  the  vast 
consequences  involved  in  the  experiment,  were  deeply  impressed 
upon  their  minds ;  and  they  resolved  to  secure  the  services  of  a 
resident  engineer  of  proved  experience  and  ability.  Their  atten- 
tion was  naturally  directed  to  Mr.  Stephenson  as  the  best  man  to 
carry  out  the  undertaking;  at  the  same  time  they  desu'ed  to 
have  the  benefit  of  the  Messrs.  Rennie's  professional  assistance 
in  superintending  the  works.  Mr.  George  Rennie  had  an  inter- 
view with  the  directors  on  the  subject,  and  proposed  to  undertake 
the  chief  superintendence,  making  six  visits  in  each  year,  and 
stipulating  that  he  should  have  the  appointment  of  the  resident 
engineer.  But  the  responsibility  attaching  to  the  direction,  in  the 
matter  of  the  efficient  carrying  on  of  the  works,  would  not  admit 
of  their  being  influenced  by  ordinary  punctilios  on  the  occasion ; 
and  they  accordingly  declined  Mr.  Rennie's  proposal,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  appoint  Mr.  George  Stephenson  their  principal  engineer 
at  a  salary  of  1000/.  per  annum. 

The  appointment  of  Mr.  Stephenson  was  alleged  as  a  griev- 
ance by  the  Messrs.  Rennie  ;  but  we  cannot  see  that  the  directors 
could  have  acted  differently  on  the  occasion.  His  practical  ex- 
perience and  ability  were  undoubted;  his  fertihty  in  expedients 
had  been  tried  and  proved  in  the  course  of  a  long  life,  twenty 
years  of  which  had  now  been  directed  to  railway  working  and 
construction  ;  he  had  neai'ly  completed  the  works  of  the  Stockton 
and  Darlington  Railway,  which  were  the  admiration  of  all  who 
had  seen  them.  There  was,  indeed,  no  other  man  in  England  to 
compare  with  him  in  point  of  practical  railway  knowledge  and 
experience ;  and  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  directors  would 
have  neglected  the  duty  which  they  owed   to   their  proprietors, 

*  Mr.  Booth's  Account,  etc.,  p.  33. 


THE    ROAD    C03IMENCED.  235 

had  they,  out  of  iiersonal  regard  or  predilection  for  Mr.  Rennie, 
selected  him  in  preference  to  George  Stephenson.  In  the  course 
of  his  six  visits  in  the  year,  he  could  have  given  but  an  inter- 
mittent attention  to  the  works  connected  with  the  undertaking, 
the  magnitude  of  which  required  the  constant  personal  super- 
vision of  an  engineer  of  practical  ability.  Tlie  result  amply 
justified  the  wisdom  of  the  selection  which  the  directors  made. 

Mr.  Stephenson  was  no  sooner  appointed  engineer,  than  he 
removed  his  residence  to  Liverpool,  and  made  arrangements  to 
commence  the  works.  He  began  with  the  "impossible" — to  do 
that  which  the  most  distinguished  engineers  of  the  day  had  de- 
clared that  "no  man  in  his  senses  would  undertake  to  do" — 
namely,  to  make  the  road  over  Chat  Moss !  The  drainage  of 
the  Moss  was  commenced  in  June,  1826.  It  was,  indeed,  a  most 
formidable  undertaking ;  and  it  has  been  well  observed  that  to 
carry  a  railway  along,  under  or  over  such  a  material  as  the  Moss 
presented,  could  never  have  been  contemplated  by  an  ordinary 
mind.  Michael  Drayton  supposed  Chat  Moss  to  have  had  its 
origin  at  the  deluge.  Nothing  more  impassable  could  have  been 
imagined  than  that  dreary  waste ;  and  Mr.  Giles  only  spoke  the 
popular  feeling  of  the  day  when  he  declared  that  no  carriage 
could  stand  on  it  "short  of  the  bottom."  In  this  bog,  singular  to 
say,  Mr.  Roscoe,  the  accomplished  historian  of  the  Medicis,  bur- 
ied his  fortune  in  the  hopeless  attempt  to  cultivate  it.  Never- 
theless, farming  operations  had  for  some  time  been  going  on  and 
were  extending  along  the  vei-ge  of  the  Moss ;  but  the  tilled 
ground,  underneath  which  the  bog  extended,  was  so  soft  that  the 
horses,  when  plowing,  Avere  provided  with  flat-soled  boots,  to  pre- 
vent their  hoofs  sinking  deep  into  the  soil. 

Mr.  Stephenson  proceeded  to  form  the  line  over  Chat  Moss  in 
the  following  manner:  He  had  deep  drains  cut  about  five  yards 
apart,  and  when  the  Moss  between  those  drains  had  become  per- 
fectly dry,  it  was  used  to  form  the  embankment,  where  necessary; 
and  so  well  did  it  succeed,  that  only  about  four  times  the  quantity 


236  LIFE  OF  GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

was  required  that  would  have  been  necessary  on  hard  ground. 
"Where  the  road  was  to  be  on  a  level,  drains  were  cut  on  each 
side  of  the  intended  line,  by  which,  intersected  with  occasional 
cross  drains,  the  upper  part  of  the  Moss  became  dry  and  toler- 
ably firm ;  and  on  this  hurdles  were  placed,  either  in  double  or 
single  layers,  as  the  case  required,  four  feet  broad  and  nine  feet 
long,  covered  with  heath.  The  ballast  was  then  placed  on  these 
floating  hurdles  ;  longitudinal  bearings,  as  well  as  cross  sleepers, 
were  used  to  support  the  rails  where  necessary ;  and  the  whole 
was  thoroughly  drained.  In  the  cutting,  the  work  had  to  be  ac- 
complished by  drainage  alone.  The  only  advantage  in  favor  of 
these  operations  was,  that  the  surface  of  the  Moss  was  somewhat 
higher  than  the  surrounding  country,  which  circumstance  partial- 
ly assisted  the  drainage.  In  proceeding  with  these  operations, 
however,  difficulties  from  time  to  time  presented  themselves, 
which  were  overcome  with  singular  sagacity  by  the  engineer. 
Thus,  when  the  longitudinal  drains  were  first  cut  along  either 
side  of  the  intended  railway,  the  oozy  fluid  of  the  bog  poured  in, 
threatening  in  many  places  to  fill  it  up  entirely,  and  bring  it  back 
to  the  original  level.  Mr.  Stephenson  then  hit  upon  the  follow- 
ing expedient.  He  sent  to  Liverpool  and  Manchester,  and 
bought  up  all  the  old  tallow  casks  that  could  be  found ;  and,  dig- 
ging out  the  trench  anew,  he  had  the  casks  inserted  along  the 
bottom,  with  their  ends  thrust  into  each  other — thus  keeping  up 
the  continuity  of  the  drain.  The  pressure  of  the  bog,  however, 
on  both  sides  of  the  casks,  as  well  as  from  beneath,  forced  them 
out  of  position ,  and  the  line  of  casks  lay  unequally  along  the 
sui-face.  They  were  then  weighted  with  clay  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  them  down.  This  expedient  proved  successful ;  and  the 
drainage  proceeded.  Then  the  Moss  between  the  two  lines  of 
drains  was  spread  over  with  hurdles,  sand  and  earth,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  forming  the  road.  But  it  was  soon  apparent  that  this 
weight  was  squeezing  down  the  Moss  and  making  it  rise  up  on 
either  side  of  the  line,  so  that  the  railway  lay  as  it  were  in  a  val- 


THE  RAILWAY  ON  CHAT  MOSS.  237 

ley,  and  formed  one  huge  drain  running  across  the  bog.  To  cor- 
rect this  defect,  the  Moss  was  weighted  with  hurdles  and  earth, 
to  the  extent  of  about  thirty  feet  outside  the  line  on  either  side, 
by  which  means  the  adjacent  bog  was  forced  down,  and  the  line 
of  railway  in  the  centre  was  again  raised  to  its  proper  position. 
By  these  expedients,  the  necessity  for  devising  which  was  con- 
stantly occurring,  and  as  constantly  met  with  remarkable  success, 
the  work  went  forward,  and  the  rails  were  laid  down. 

JVIr.  Stephenson  himself  thus  described  the  general  outline  of 
this  formidable  work,  in  an  account  which  he  furnished  to  Mr. 
Charles  Knight,  dated  the  1st  November,  1828  :  * 

"Chat  Moss  extends  four  miles  along  the  line  of  road.  On 
each  side  of  the  Moss  the  land  lies  low.  On  the  western  side  an 
embankment  is  formed  of  moss  nearly  a  mile  in  length  and  vary- 
ing from  ten  to  twelve  feet  in  height,  which  stands  extremely 
well.  The  slopes  of  this  embankment  are  a  little  more  upright 
than  an  angle  of  45°,  which,  from  my  experience,  stands  better 
than  if  more  inclined.  It  is  now  covered  with  a  material  from 
two  to  three  feet  thick,  consisting  of  sand  and  gravel.  The  per- 
manent road  is  laid  upon  this  covering,  and  remains  very  firm. 
The  quantity  of  excavations  made  in  the  Moss,  to  form  the  em- 
bankments adjoining,  amount  to  520,000  cubic  yards.  That 
portion  of  the  Moss,  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  west- 
ern edge,  called  'Flow  Moss,'  from  its  extreme  softness,  is  also 
covered  with  sand  and  gravel ;  underneath  I  have  laid  hurdles 
thickly  interwoven  with  twisted  heath,  which  forms  a  platform 
for  the  covering.  Two  years  ago  a  person  was  not  able  to  walk 
over  this  portion  of  the  Moss,  except  in  the  dryest  weather ;  at 
present  we  have  horses  traveling  with  loads  of  from  six  to  twelve 
tons. 

"A  considerable  embankment  is  completed  near  the  centre  of 
the  Moss,  and  resists  pressure  remarkably  well.  From  the 
termination  of  the  last  work,  for  a  mile  there  is  little  required 

*  Companion  to  the  Almanac  and  Year  Book  of  General  Information  for  1829. 


-do  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSOX. 

except  drainage,  the  surface  being  uniform,  and  nearly  at  the  de- 
sired level.  Thenceforward  the  surface  descends,  consequently 
an  embankment  is  required,  which  gradually  increases  until  it 
attains  the  height  of  twenty  feet  or  more.  The  foundation  in 
this  part  being  exceedingly  soft,  we  have  experienced  some  diffi- 
culty during  its  formation,  where  the  height  is  great,  from  the 
shrinking.  Notwithstanding  this,  in  the  course  of  next  summer 
we  shall  have  a  good  road  over  this  part.  Much  advantage  has 
been  derived  from  removing  the  heathy  surface  with  a  spade 
depth  of  the  Moss  on  each  side  of  this  embankment.  This  ex- 
pedient accelerates  the  drying  of  the  substratum  of  the  Moss,  by 
presenting  a  surface  to  the  atmosphere  much  more  favorable  for 
evaporation  than  the  heath.  Indeed,  the  latter  being  a  bad  con- 
ductor of  heat,  tends  much  to  keep  the  temperature  of  the  Moss 
below  that  of  the  air.  The  covering  of  the  Moss,  from  the  nature 
of  the  surface  which  it  presents  to  the  atmosphere,  also  materially 
assists  in  reducing  the  temperature  of  the  subjacent  fluid,  by  the 
rapid  radiation  of  caloric." 

The  formation  of  the  heavy  embankment  above  referred  to,  on 
the  verge  of  the  bog,  presented  considerable  difficulties.  The 
weight  of  the  earth  pressed  it  down  through  the  fluid :  and  thou- 
sands of  cubic  yards  were  engulfed  before  the  road  made  any 
approach  to  the  required  level.  For  weeks  the  stuff  was  poured 
in,  and  little  or  no  progress  seemed  to  have  been  made.  The 
directors  of  the  railway  became  alarmed,  and  they  feared  that 
the  evil  prognostications  of  the  eminent  civil  engineers  were  now 
about  to  be  realized.  Mr.  Stephenson  was  asked  for  his  opinion; 
and  his  invariable  answer  was — "We  must  persevere."  And  so 
he  went  on ;  but  still  the  insatiable  bog  gaped  for  moi'e  material, 
which  was  emptied  in  truck-load  after  truck-load  without  any 
apparent  effect.  Then  a  special  meeting  of  the  board  was  sum- 
moned, and  it  was  held  upon  the  spot,  to  determine  whether  the 
work  should  be  proceeded  with,  or  abandoned.  Mr.  Stephenson 
himself  afterwards  described  the  transaction  at  a  public  dinner 


THE    DIFFICULTIES    ENCOUNTERED,  239 

given  at  Birmingham,  on  the  23d  of  December,  1837,  on  the 
occasion  of  a  piece  of  plate  being  presented  to  his  son,  the  engi- 
neer of  the  London  and  Birmingham  Raihviiy.  He  related  the 
anecdote,  he  said,  for  the  purpose  of  impressing  upon  the  minds 
of  those  who  heard  him  the  necessity  of  perseverance. 

"After  working  for  weeks  and  weeks,"  said  he,  "in  filling  in 
materials  to  form  the  road,  there  did  not  yet  appear  to  be  the 
least  si";n  of  our  bein2[  able  to  raise  the  solid  embankment  one 
single  inch ;  in  short  we  went  on  filling  in  without  the  slightest 
apparent  effect.  Even  my  assistants  began  to  feel  uneasy,  and 
to  doubt  of  the  success  of  the  scheme.  The  directors,  too,  spoke 
of  it  as  a  hopeless  task ;  and  at  length  they  became  seriously 
alarmed,  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  a  board  meeting  was  held  on 
Chat  Moss  to  decide  whether  I  should  proceed  any  further. 
They  had  previously  taken  the  opinion  of  other  engineers,  who 
reported  unfavorably.  There  was  no  help  for  it,  however,  but 
to  go  on.  An  immense  outlay  had  been  incurred ;  and  great 
loss  would  have  been  occasioned  had  the  scheme  been  then 
abandoned  and  the  line  taken  by  another  route.  So  the  direct- 
ors were  comjjelled  to  allow  me  to  go  on  with  my  plans,  of  the 
ultimate  success  of  which  I  myself  never  for  one  moment  doubted. 
Detei'mined,  therefore,  to  persevere  as  before,  I  ordered  the  work 
to  be  carried  on  vigorously ;  and,  to  the  sui'prise  of  every  one  con- 
nected with  the  undertaking,  in  six  months  from  the  day  on 
which  the  board  had  held  its  special  meeting  on  the  Moss,  a  loco- 
motive engine  and  carriage  passed  over  the  very  spot  with  a 
party  of  the  directors'  friends  on  their  way  to  dine  at  Manchester." 

The  idea  which  bore  him  up,  in  the  face  of  so  many  adverse 
opinions,  in  assuming  that  a  safe  road  could  be  formed  across  the 
floating  bog  was  this :  That  a  ship  floated  in  water,  and  the 
Moss  was  certainly  more  capable  of  supporting  such  a  weight 
than  water  was  ;  and  he  knew  that  if  he  could  once  get  the  ma- 
terial to  float  he  would  succeed.  That  his  idea  was  correct  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  Chat  Moss  now  forms  the  very  best  part 


240  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

of  the  line  of  railroad  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester.  Nor 
was  the  cost  of  construction  of  this  part  of  the  line  excessive. 
The  formation  of  the  road  across  Chat  Moss  amounted  to  about 
28,000/.,  Mr.  Giles's  estimate  having  been  270,000/. ! 

During  the  progress  of  these  works  the  most  ridiculous  rumors 
were  set  afloat.  The  drivers  of  the  stage-coaches,  who  feared  for 
their  calling,  brought  the  alarming  intelligence  into  Manchester 
from  time  to  time,  that  "Chat  Moss  was  blown  up!"  "Hun- 
dreds of  men  and  horses  had  sunk  in  the  bog ;  and  the  works 
were  completely  abandoned ! "  The  engineer  himself  was  de- 
clared to  have  been  swallowed  up  in  the  Serbonian  bog ;  and 
"  railways  were  at  an  end  forever ! "  "With  the  originators  of 
these  alarming  reports,  the  wish  was  father  to  the  thought.  The 
majority  of  people  knew  nothing  about  railways — they  were  yet 
a  deep  mystery ;  and  they  were  not  disposed  to  believe  in  them 
till  they  had  seen  them  put  to  the  proof.  The  rumors  were 
therefore  credited  for  the  time,  until  supplanted  by  others. 

Although  the  works  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway 
are  of  a  much  less  formidable  character  than  those  of  many  lines 
which  have  since  been  constructed,  they  were  then  regarded  as 
of  the  most  stupendous  description.  Indeed,  the  like  of  them 
had  not  before  been  executed  in  England.  There  were  sixty- 
three  bridges  over  and  under  the  line  at  different  points.  The 
great  Sankey  viaduct,  consisting  of  nine  arches  of  fifty  feet  span, 
was  a  noble  structure,  rising  to  a  height  of  neai-ly  seventy  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  Sankey  canal.  The  skew  bridge  at  Rain- 
hill,  the  bridge  at  Newton,  and  the  bridge  over  the  L'well  at 
Manchester,  are  still  looked  upon  as  good  specimens  of  railway 
work,  and  at  the  time  of  their  formation  were  regarded  with  high 
admiration  by  engineers.  The  tunnel  under  part  of  the  town  of 
Liverpool,  and  the  Olive  Mount  excavation — a  deep  cutting 
tJirough  solid  sandstone  rock,  extending  for  upwards  of  two  miles 
— were  formidable  works,  occupying  much  time  in  the  quarry- 
ing and  removal  of  the  stone.     Some  idea  of  the  extensive  char- 


MAGNITUDE  OF  THE  WORKS.  241 

acter  of  the  cuttings  may  be  formed  fi'om  the  fact  that  upwards 
of  three  millions  of  cubic  yards  of  stone,  clay  and  soil,  were 
removed  and  formed  into  embankments  at  various  parts  of  the 
line. 

In  the  construction  of  the  railway,  Mr.  Stephenson's  capacity 
for  organizing  and  directing  the  labors  of  a  large  number  of 
workmen  of  all  kinds  eminently  displayed  itself.  A  vast  quan- 
tity of  ballast-wagons  had  to  be  constructed  for  the  purposes  of 
the  work,  and  implements  and  materials  had  to  be  collected, 
before  the  mass  of  labor  to  be  employed  could  be  efficiently  set 
in  motion  at  the  various  jwints  of  the  line.  There  were  not  at 
that  time,  as  there  are  now,  large  contractors  possessed  of  railway 
plant,  capable  of  executing  earthworks  on  a  large  scale.  There 
was  no  division  of  labor  between  the  engineer  and  contractor, 
such  as  now  exists.  The  engineer  had  then  not  only  to  contrive 
the  plant,  but  to  organize  the  labor,  and  direct  it  in  person.  The 
very  laborers  themselves  had  to  be  trained  to  their  work  by  the 
engineer ;  and  it  was  on  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway 
that  Mr.  Stephenson  first  called  into  existence  that  formidable 
band  of  navvies,  whose  handiworks  will  be  the  wonder  and  ad- 
miration of  succeeding  generations.  Looking  at  their  gigantic 
traces,  the  men  of  some  future  age  may  be  found  ready  to  declare, 
of  the  engineer  and  of  his  workmen,  that  "  there  were  giants  in 
those  days." 

These  navvies  were  men  drawn  by  the  attraction  of  good 
wages  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom ;  and  they  were  ready  for 
any  sort  of  rough  work.  Many  of  the  laborers  employed  on  the 
Liverpool  line  were  Irish ;  others  were  from  the  Northumberland 
and  Durham  railways,  where  they  had  been  accustomed  to  similar 
work ;  the  best  and  most  powerful  came  from  the  hilly  districts 
of  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire,  where  men  of  the  finest  physical 
development  in  England  are  to  be  found ;  and  some  were  drawn 
from  the  loose  and    unemployed    population  of  the  surroundin"- 

counties.      Working   together,   eating,   drinking,   and    sleeping 
16 


242  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

together,  and  dally  exposed  to  the  same  influences,  they  soon 
began  to  assume  a  distinct  and  well-defined  character,  strongly 
marking  them  from  the  population  of  the  districts  in  which  they 
labored.  Reckless  alike  of  his  life  as  of  his  earniiigr-,  the  navvy 
worked  hard  and  lived  hard.  For  his  lodging,  a  hut  of  turf 
would  content  him ;  but  he  required  large  quantities  of  flesh 
meat,  and  what  remained  of  his  wages  was  often  spent  in  drink. 
With  few  or  no  domestic  ties  to  bind  him,  or  family  affections  to 
soften  his  nature — wanting  in  moral  and  religious  training,  and 
placed  suddenly  in  the  receipt  of  high  wages,  paid  at  unusually 
long  intervals — the  navvy  shortly  became  distinguished  by  a  sort 
of  savage  manners,  which  contrasted  strangely  with  those  of  the 
surrounding  population.  His  pay-night  was  often  a  saturnalia 
of  riot  and  disorder,  dreaded  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  quiet 
villages  along  the  line  of  works.  Yet  these  brawny  laborers, 
with  their  powerful  bones  and  muscles,  ignorant  and  violent 
though  they  might  be,  were  usually  good-hearted  fellows  in  the 
main — frank  and  open-handed  with  their  comrades,  and  ready 
to  share  their  last  penny  with  those  in  distress.  As  for  their 
powers  of  endurance,  probably  no  class  of  laborers  in  the  world 
can  compete  with  them :  they  have  been  toiled  after  in  vain  by 
French  and  German  workmen,  who  have  failed  to  justify  the 
claim  to  be  paid  a  similarly  high  rate  of  wages.  Their  pluck  is 
wonderful,  and  their  contempt  for  danger  almost  proverbial. 
Indeed,  the  most  dangerous  sort  of  labor  —  such  as  working 
horse-barrow  runs,  in  which  accidents  are  of  constant  occurrence 
—  has  always  been  most  in  request  amongst  them,  the  danger 
seeming  to  be  one  of  its  chief  recommendations. 

It  was  some  time,  however,  before  Mr.  Stephenson  could,  out 
of  the  raw  material  of  laborers  attracted  to  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  lino,  form  an  efficient  body  of  workmen  of  this  sort. 
The  principal  difficulty  was  experienced  in  pushing  on  the  woi-ks 
connected  with  the  formation  of  the  tunnel  under  Liverpool, 
2200  yards  in  length.     The  blasting  and  hewing  of  the  rock  was 


THE   RAILWAY   NAVVY.  243 

vigorously  carried  on  night  and  day ;  and  the  engineer's  practical 
experience  in  the  collieries  here  proved  of  great  use  to  him. 
Many  obstacles  had  to  be  encountered  and  overcome  in  the  for- 
mation of  the  tunnel,  the  rock  vaiying  in  hardness  and  texture 
at  different  parts.  In  some  places  the  miners  were  deluged  by 
water,  which  surged  from  the  soft  blue  shale  found  at  the  lowest 
level  of  the  tunnel.  In  other  places,  beds  of  wet  sand  were  cut 
through ;  and  there  careful  propping  and  pinning  were  necessary 
to  prevent  the  roof  from  tumbling  in,  until  the  masonry  to  support 
it  could  be  erected.  On  one  occasion,  while  Mr.  Stephenson  was 
absent  from  Liverpool,  a  mass  of  loose  moss-eai'th  and  sand  fell 
from  the  roof,  which  had  been  insufficiently  propped.  The  miners 
withdrew  from  the  work ;  and  on  Mr.  Stephenson's  return,  he 
found  them  in  a  refractory  state,  refusing  to  reenter  the  tunnel, 
lie  induced  them,  however,  by  his  example,  to  return  to  their 
labors ;  and  when  the  roof  had  been  secured,  the  work  went  on 
again  as  before.  When  there  was  danger,  he  was  always  ready 
to  share  it  with  the  men  ;  and  gathering  confidence  from  his  fear- 
lessness, they  proceeded  vigorously  with  the  undertaking,  boring 
and  mining  their  way  towards  the  light. 

By  the  end  of  1828,  the  directors  found  they  had  expended 
4G0,000Z.  on  the  works,  and  that  they  Avere  still  far  from  comple- 
tion. They  looked  at  the  loss  of  interest  on  this  large  invest- 
ment, and  began  to  grumble  at  the  delay.  They  desired  to  see 
their  capital  becoming  productive ;  and  in  the  spring  of  1829, 
they  urged  the  engineer  to  push  on  the  works  with  increased 
vigor.  Mr.  Ci'opper,  one  of  the  directors,  who  took  an  active 
interest  in  their  progress,  said  to  him  one  day,  "  Now,  George, 
thou  must  get  on  with  the  railway,  and  have  it  finished  without 
further  delay :  thou  must  really  have  it  ready  for  opening  by  the 
first  day  of  January  next."  "  Consider  the  heavy  character  of 
the  works,  sir,  and  how  much  we  have  been  delayed  by  the  want 
of  money,  not  to  speak  of  the  wetness  of  the  weather:  it  is 
impossible."     "Impossible!"  rejoined  Cropper;  "I  wish  I  could 


244  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

get  Napoleon  to  thee — he  would  tell  thee  there  is  no  such  word 
as  'impossible'  in  the  vocabulary."  "Tush!"  exclaimed  Ste- 
phenson, with  warmth ;  "  don't  speak  to  me  about  Napoleon ! 
Give  me  men,  money,  and  materials,  and  I  will  do  what  Napo- 
leon couldn't  do — drive  a  railroad  from  Liverpool  to  Manchester 
over  Chat  Moss  ! "  And  truly,  the  formation  of  a  high  road  over 
that  bottomless  bog  was,  apparently,  a  far  more  difficult  task  than 
the  hewing  even  of  Napoleon's  far-famed  road  across  the  Simplon. 

The  directors  had  more  than  once  been  pressed  by  want  c 
funds  to  meet  the  heavy  expenditure.  The  country  had  scarcely 
yet  recovered  from  the  general  panic  and  crash  of  1825  ;  and  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  the  calls  could  be  raised  from  the  share- 
holders. A  loan  of  100,000^.  was  obtained  from  the  Exchequer 
Loan  Commissioners  in  1826  ;  and  in  1829  an  Act  was  obtained 
enabling  the  company  to  raise  further  capital,  to  provide  working 
plant  for  the  railway.  Two  acts  were  also  obtained  during  the 
progress  of  the  works,  enabling  deviations  and  alterations  to  be 
made,  one  to  improve  the  curves  and  shorten  the  line  near  Rain- 
hill,  and  the  other  to  carry  the  line  across  the  Irwell  into  the 
town  of  Manchester.  Thanks  to  the  energy  of  the  engineer,  the 
industiy  of  his  laborers,  and  the  improved  sujijDly  of  money  by 
the  directors,  the  railway  made  rapid  progress  in  the  course  of 
the  year  1829.  Double  sets  of  laborers  were  employed  on  Chat 
Moss  and  other  points,  in  carrying  on  the  works  by  night  and 
day,  the  night  shifts  working  by  torch  and  fire-light ;  and  at 
length,  the  woi'k  advancing  at  all  points,  the  directors  saw  their 
way  to  the  satisfactory  completion  of  the  undertaking. 

It  may  well  be  supposed  that  Mr.  Stephenson's  time  was  fully 
occupied  in  superintending  the  extensive,  and,  for  the  most  pai-t, 
novel  works  connected  Avith  the  railway,  and  that  even  his  extra- 
ordinary powers  of  labor  and  endurance  were  taxed  to  the  utmost 
during  the  four  years  that  they  were  in  progress.  Although  he 
had  able  helpers  in  the  young  engineers  whom  he  had  selected  to 
take  charge  of  the  ditferent  "  lengths "  of  the  line,  every  detail  in 


HARD    WORK    AND    FRUGAL   FARE.  245 

the  plans  was  directed  and  arranged  by  himself.  Every  bridge, 
from  the  simplest  to  the  most  complicated,  including  the  then 
novel  structure  of  the  "  skew  bridge,"  iron  girders,  siphons,  fixed 
engines,  the  machinery  for  Avorking  the  tunnel  at  the  Liverpool 
end,  had  all  to  be  thought  out  by  his  own  head,  and  reduced  to 
definite  plans  by  his  own  hands.  Besides  all  this,  he  had  to 
design  the  working  plant  in  anticipation  of  the  opening  of  the 
railway.  He  planned  the  wagons,  trucks,  and  carriages ;  and 
himself  superintended  their  manufacture.  The  turntables,  switch- 
es, crossings,  and  signals  —  in  short,  the  entire  structure  and  ma- 
chinery of  the  line,  from  the  turning  of  the  first  sod  to  the  running 
of  the  first  train  of  carriages  upon  the  railway  —  went  on  under 
his  immediate  supervision. 

He  had  no  staff  of  experienced  assistants — not  even  a  staff  of 
draughtsmen  in  his  office — but  only  a  few  young  pupils  learning 
their  business ;  and  frequently  he  was  without  even  their  help. 
The  time  of  his  engineering  inspectors  was  fully  occupied  in  the 
actual  superintendence  of  the  works  at  diflferent  parts  of  the  line  ; 
and  he  directed  all  their  more  important  operations  in  person. 
Mr.  Locke,  formerly  in  his  employment  as  a  clerk  at  Newcastle, 
had  charge  of  the  important  works  between  Liverpool  and  Rain- 
hill  ;  Mr.  John  Dixon  superintended  the  formation  of  the  road 
over  Chat  Moss ;  and  Mr.  T.  L.  Gooch  and  Mr.  Allcard  were 
stationed  at  other  points.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  this  vast  accu- 
mulation of  work  and  responsibility  that  the  battle  of  the  locomo- 
tive engine  had  to  be  fought — a  battle  not  merely  against  material 
difficulties,  but  against  the  still  more  trying  obstructions  of  deeply- 
rooted  mistrust  and  prejudice  on  the  part  of  a  considerable 
minority  of  the  directors. 

The  usual  routine  of  his  life  at  this  time — if  routine  it  might 
be  called — was,  to  rise  early,  by  sunrise  in  summer  and  before  it 
in  winter,  and  thus  "break  the  back  of  the  day's  work"  by  mid- 
day. Before  breakfast  he  would  visit  the  extensive  workshops 
at  Edgehill,  where  most  of  the  "plant"  for  the  line  was  manu- 


246  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

factured.  Then,  returning  Lome,  after  a  hurried  breakfast,  he 
would  ride  along  the  works  to  inspect  their  progress,  and  push 
them  on  with  greater  energy  where  needful.  On  other  days  he 
would  prepare  for  the  much  less  congenial  engagement  of  meeting 
the  board,  which  was  often  a  cause  of  great  anxiety  and  pain  to 
him  ;  for  it  was  difficult  to  satisfy  men  of  all  tempers,  and  some 
of  these  not  of  the  most  generous  sort.  On  such  occasions  he 
might  be  seen  with  his  right-hand  thumb  thrust  through  the  top- 
most button-hole  of  his  coat  breast,  vehemently  hitching  his  right 
shoulder,  as  was  his  habit  when  laboring  under  any  considerable 
excitement.  On  other  days  he  would  take  an  early  ride  before 
breakfast,  to  inspect  the  progress  of  the  Sankey  viaduct.  He 
had  a  favorite  horse,  brought  by  him  from  Newcastle,  called 
"  Bobby,"  so  tractable  that,  with  his  rider  on  his  back,  he 
would  walk  up  to  a  locomotive  with  the  steam  blowing  off,  and 
put  his  nose  against  it  without  shying.  "  Bobby,"  saddled  and 
bridled,  was  brought  to  Mr.  Stephenson's  door  betimes  in  the 
morning ;  and  mounting  him,  he  would  ride  the  fifteen  miles  to 
Sankey,  putting  up  at  a  little  public  house  whicb  then  stood  upon 
the  banks  of  the  canal.  There  he  had  his  breakfast  of  "  crowdie," 
which  he  made  with  his  own  hands.  It  consisted  of  oatmeal 
stirred  into  a  basin  of  hot  water — a  sort  of  porridge — which  was 
supped  with  cold  sweet  milk.  After  this  frugal  breakfast,  he 
would  go  upon  the  works,  and  remain  there,  riding  from  point  to 
point,  for  the  greater  part  of  the  day.  If  he  returned  home 
before  mid-day,  it  would  be  to  examine  the  pay-sheets  in  the 
different  departments,  sent  in  by  the  assistant  engineers,  or  by 
the  foremen  of  the  workshops ;  all  this  he  did  himself,  with  the 
greatest  care,  requiring  a  full  explanation  of  every  item. 

After  a  late  dinner,  which  occupied  very  short  time  and  was 
always  of  a  plain  and  frugal  description,  he  would  proceed  to 
dispose  of  his  correspondence,  or  prepare  sketches  of  drawings, 
and  give  instructions  as  to  their  completion.  lie  would  occasion- 
ally refresh  himself  for  this  evening  work  by  a  short  doze,  whichi 


METHOD    OF    TRAINING   HIS   PUPILS.  247 

however,  he  would  never  admit  had  exceeded  the  Hmits  of 
"  winking,"  to  use  his  own  term.  Mr.  Frederick  Swanwick,  one 
of  his  most  rising  pupils,  officiated  as  his  amanuensis ;  and  he 
then  remarked — what  in  after  years  he  could  better  appreciate — 
the  clear,  tcr?e,  and  vigorous  style  of  his  dictation :  tliere  was 
nothing  superfluous  in  it ;  but  it  was  close,  direct,  and  to  the  point 
— in  short,  thoroughly  business-like.  And  if,  in  passing  through 
the  pen  of  the  amanuensis,  his  meaning  happened  in  any  way  to 
be  distorted  or  modified,  it  did  not  fail  to  escape  his  detection, 
though  he  was  always  tolerant  of  any  liberties  taken  with  his  own 
form  of  expression,  so  long  as  the  words  written  down  conveyed 
his  real  meaning.  His  strong  natural  acumen  showed  itself  even 
in  such  matters  as  grammar  and  composition — a  department  of 
knowledge  in  which,  it  might  be  supposed,  he  could  scarcely  have 
had  either  time  or  opportunity  to  acquire  much  information.  But 
here,  as  in  all  other  tilings,  his  shrewd  common  sense  came  to  his 
help ;  and  his  simple,  vigorous  Enghsh  might  almost  be  cited  as 
a  model  of  composition. 

His  letters  and  reports  written,  and  his  sketches  of  drawings 
made  and  explained,  the  remainder  of  the  evening  was  usually 
devoted  to  conversation  with  his  wife  and  those  of  his  pupils 
who  lived  under  his  roof,  and  constituted,  as  it  were,  part  of  the 
family.  He  delighted  to  test  the  knowledge  of  his  young  com- 
panions, and  to  question  them  upon  the  principles  of  mechanics. 
If  they  were  not  quite  "up  to  the  mark"  on  every  point,  there 
was  no  escaping  detection  by  any  evasive  or  specious  explanations 
on  their  part.  These  always  met  with  the  verdict  of,  "  Ah !  you 
know  naught  about  it  now ;  but  think  it  over  again,  and  tell  me 
the  answer  Avhen  you  understand  it."  If  there  was  even  partial 
success  in  the  reply,  it  would  at  once  be  acknowledged,  and  a 
full  explanation  was  given,  to  ■which  the  master  would  add  illus- 
trative examples  for  the  purpose  of  impressing  the  principle  more 
deeply  upon  the  pupil's  mind. 

It  was  not  so  much  his  object  and  purpose  to  "cram"  the  minds 


248  LIFE  or  GEORGE   STEPIIEX30N. 

of  the  young  men  committed  to  his  charge,  with  the  results  of 
knowledge,  as  to  stimuUite  them  to  educate  themselves — to  induce 
them  to  develop  their  mental  and  moral  powers  by  the  exercise 
of  their  own  free  energies,  and  thus  acquire  that  habit  of  self- 
thinking  and  self-reliance  which  is  the  spring  of  all  true  manly 
action.  In  a  word,  he  sought  to  bring  out  and  invigorate  the 
character  of  his  pupils.  He  felt  that  he  himself  had  been  made 
stronger  and  better  through  his  encounters  with  dilRculty ;  and 
he  would  not  have  the  road  of  knowledge  made  too  smooth  and 
easy  for  them.  "Learn  for  yourselves — think  for  yourselves," 
he  would  say — "make  yourselves  masters  of  principles — perse- 
vere— be  industrious — and  there  is  then  no  fear  of  you."  And 
not  the  least  emphatic  proof  of  the  soundness  of  this  system  of 
education,  as  conducted  by  Mr.  Stephenson,  was  afforded  by  the 
after  history  of  these  pupils  themselves.  There  was  not  one  of 
those  trained  under  his  eye  who  did  not  rise  to  eminent  useful- 
ness and  distinction  as  engineers.  He  sent  them  forth  into  the 
world  braced  with  the  spirit  of  manly  self-help — inspired  by  his 
own  noble  example ;  and  they  repeated  in  their  after  career  the 
lessons  of  earnest  effort  and  persistent  industry  which  his  own 
daily  life  had  taught  them. 

Mr.  Stephenson's  evenings  at  home  were  not,  however,  exclu- 
sively devoted  either  to  business  or  to  the  graver  exercises  above 
referred  to.  He  would  often  indulge  in  clieerful  conversation 
and  anecdote,  falling  back  from  time  to  time  upon  the  struggles 
and  difficulties  of  his  early  life.  The  not  unfrcquent  Avinding  up 
of  his  story,  addressed  to  the  pupils  about  him,  was — "Ah!  ye 
young  fellows  don't  know  what  wark  is  in  these  days!"  Mr. 
Swanwick  delights  recalling  to  mind  how  seldom,  if  ever,  an 
imgry  or  captious  word,  or  an  angry  look,  marred  the  enjoyment 
of  those  evenings.  The  presence  of  Mrs.  Stephenson  conferred 
upon  them  an  additional  charm :  amiable,  kind-hearted  and  intel- 
ligent, she  shared  quietly  in  the  pleasure ;  and  tlie  atmosphere  of 
comfort  which  always  pervaded  her  home,  contributed  in  no  small 


NIGHT   STUDY.  249 

degree  to  rentier  it  a  centre  of  cheerful,  hopeful  intercourse,  and 
of  earnest,  honest  industry.  She  was  a  wife  who  well  deserved, 
what  she  through  life  retained,  the  strong  and  unremitting  affec- 
tion of  her  husband. 

When  Mr.  Stephenson  retired  for  the  night,  it  was  not  always 
that  he  permitted  himself  to  sink  into  slumber.  Like  Brindley, 
he  worked  out  many  a  difficult  problem  in  bed  ;  and  for  hours 
he  would  turn  over  in  his  mind  and  study  how  to  overcome  some 
obstacle,  or  to  mature  some  project,  on  which  his  thoughts  were 
bent.  Some  remark  inadvertently  dropped  by  him  at  the  break- 
fast table  in  the  morning,  served  to  show  that  he  had  been  steal- 
ing some  hours  from  the  past  night  in  reflection  and  study.  Yet 
he  would  rise  at  his  accustomed  early  hour,  and  there  was  no 
abatement  of  his  usual  energy  in  carrying  on  the  business  of  the 
day. 

Such  is  a  brief  sketch  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  private  life  and 
habits  while  carrying  on  the  works  of  the  Liverpool  and  Man- 
chester Railway. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

A  PRIZE  OFFERED  FOR  THE  BEST  LOCOMOTIVE  ENGINE. 

The  works  were  far  advanced  towards  completion  before  the 
directors  had  determined  as  to  the  kind  of  tractive  power  to  be 
employed  in  working  the  railway  when  opened  for  traffic.  It 
was  necessary  that  they  should  now  come  to  a  decision,  and 
many  board  meetings  were  held  for  the  purpose  of  discussing  the 
subject.  The  old-fasliioued  and  well-tried  system  of  horse  haul- 
age was  not  without  its  advocates ;  but,  looking  at  the  large 
amount  of  traffic  which  there  was  to  be  conveyed,  and  at  the 
probable  delay  in  the  transit  from  station  to  station,  if  this 
method  were  adopted,  the  directors,  after  a  visit  made  by  them 
to  the  Northumberland  and  Durham  railways  in  1828,  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  employment  of  horse  power  was  inad- 
missible. 

The  tunnel  at  Liverpool  had  been  finished,  a  firm  road  had 
been  formed  over  Chat  Moss,  and  yet  the  directors  had  got  no 
further  than  this  decision  against  the  employment  of  horse  power. 
It  was  felt  that  some  mechanical  agency  must  be  adopted ;  but 
whether  fixed  or  locomotive  power,  was  still  a  moot  point.  Fix- 
ed engines  had  many  advocates,  the  locomotive  very  few :  it 
stood  as  yet  almost  in  a  minority  of  one  —  George  Stephenson. 
The  prejudice  against  the  employment  of  the  latter  power  had 
even  increased  since  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Bill  under- 
went its  first  ordeal  in  the  House  of  Commons.     In  proof  of  this, 

(250) 


WHAT    POWER   TO    BE    EMPLOYED.  251 

we  may  mention  that  the  Newcastle  and  Carlisle  Railway  Act 
wa?  conceded  in  1829,  on  the  express  condition  that  it  should  not 
be  worked  by  locomotives,  but  by  horses  only. 

Grave  doubts  existed  as  to  the  practicability  of  working  a 
large  traffic  by  means  of  traveling  engines.  Thus,  Sir  William 
Cowling,  who  was  appointed  by  the  Emperor  Alexander  of  Rus- 
sia to  examine  the  internal  communications  of  England,  and  who 
visited  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway  after  it  was  opened 
for  traffic,  declared  that  it  could  never  answer  as  a  route  for  pas- 
sengers, in  comparison  with  stage-coaches.  He  expressed  his 
decided  preference  for  the  Atmospheric  Railway,  then  proposed 
by  Mr.  Vallance  between  Brighton  and  Shoreham,  which  he 
considered  "very  far  superior"  to  the  locomotive  system.  IVIr. 
Palmer,  in  his  "Description  of  a  Railway,"  declared  that  "there 
is  no  instance  of  any  locomotive  engine  having  (regularly  and  as 
a  constant  rate)  traveled  faster  than,  if  so  fast  as,  six  miles  an 
hour."  Vallance,  in  his  letter  to  Ricardo,  pronounced  that  "loco- 
motive engines  cannot,  on  an  open  railway,  ever  be  driven  so 
fast  as  horses  will  draw  us ;"  and  that  railways  as  an  investment 
would  be  unpi-oductive,  and  as  an  effective  means  of  transit  a 
failure.  Tredgold,  in  his  "  Practical  Treatise  on  Railroads  and 
Carriages,"  dismissed  the  locomotive  in  favor  of  the  fixed-engine 
system,  which  he  pronounced  to  be  cheaper  as  well  as  safer. 
"Locomotives,"  he  said,  "must  always  be  objectionable  on  a  rail- 
road for  general  use,  where  it  is  attempted  to  give  them  a  con- 
siderable degree  of  speed."  As  to  the  speed  of  railway  traveling 
being  equal  to  that  of  horses  on  common  roads,  Mr.  Tredgold 
entertained  great  doubts.  "  That  any  general  system  of  carrying 
passengers  would  answer,  to  go  at  a  velocity  exceeding  ten  miles 
an  hour,  or  thereabouts,  is  extremely  improbable."  * 

The  most  celebrated  engineers  offered  no  opinion  on  the  sub- 
ject. They  did  not  believe  in  the  locomotive,  and  would  not 
even  give  themselves  the  ti-ouble  to  examine  it.     The  ridicule 

*  Tredgold  on  Railways,  2d  ed.,  p.  119. 


252  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

with  which  George  Stephenson  had  been  assailed  by  the  barris- 
ters before  the  Parliamentary  Committee  had  pleased  them 
greatly.  They  did  not  relish  the  idea  of  a  man  who  had  picked 
up  his  experience  at  Newcastle  coal-pits  appearing  in  the  capac- 
ity of  a  leading  engineer  before  Parliament,  and  attempting  to 
establish  a  new  system  of  internal  communication  in  the  country. 
Telford  and  the  Kennies  were  then  the  great  lights  of  the  en- 
gineering world.  The  former  was  consulted  by  the  Government 
on  the  subject  of  the  power  to  be  employed  to  work  the  Liver- 
pool line,  on  the  occasion  of  the  directors  applying  to  the  Ex- 
chequer Loan  Commissioners  to  forego  their  security  of  30  per 
cent,  of  the  calls,  which  the  directors  wished  to  raise  to  enable 
them  to  proceed  more  expeditiously  with  the  works.  Mr.  Tel- 
ford's report  was,  however,  so  unsatisfactory  that  the  Commis- 
sioners Avould  not  release  any  part  of  the  calls.  All  that  Mr. 
Telford  would  say  on  the  subject  of  the  power  to  be  employed 
was,  that  the  use  of  horses*  had  been  done  away  with  by  intro- 
ducing two  sets  of  inclined  planes,  and  he  considered  this  an  evil, 
inasmuch  as  the  planes  must  be  worked  either  by  locomotive  or 
fixed  engines;  "but,"  he  said,  "which  of  the  two  latter  modes 


*  The  engineers  who  were  examined  before  Parliament  in  support  of  the  second  Liver- 
pool ar.il  Slanchester  Bi  2,  were  opposed  to  the  locomotive,  in  their  entire  ignorance  of  its 
construction  and  properties  ;  indeed,  they  would  not  give  themselves  the  trouble  to  un- 
derstand it.  Their  intention  was  so  to  lay  out  the  line  that  it  should  bo  worked  by 
horses.  One  of  the  gradients  at  Rainhill,  as  originally  planned  by  them,  was  very  steep, 
about  one  in  fifty,  and  the  counsel  for  the  opposition,  in  cross-examining  one  of  the  emi- 
nent engineers  employed  for  the  promoters,  asked  him  if  he  knew  "how  much  additionaj 
power  would  be  required  to  surmount  a  gradient  of  one  in  fiftj'."  "Not  very  much," 
replied  the  engineer ;  "  a  little  more  whipcord  will  do  it."  The  counsel  for  the  opposi- 
tion, in  the  course  of  his  reply,  alluded  to  this  evidence.    "Mr. ,"  said  he,  "has  told 

you,  that  by  means  of  a  little  whipcord,  a  rising  gradient,  so  steep  as  one  foot  in  fifty,  is 
to  be  overcome.  I  know  where  the  whipcord,  and  not  a  little  whipcord,  ought  to  have 
been  applied,  before  that  witness  left  school."  Some  years  after,  when  the  Brighton 
Railway  Bill  was  before  Parliament,  the  same  eminent  engineer  was  asked  by  counsel 
"  whether  the  wheels  of  the  locomotive  revolved  on  the  axle  or  were  fixed  to  it  ? "  The 
engineer  was  rather  taken  aback,  for  he  did  not  know;  but  he  adroitly  got  out  of  the 
difliculty  by  saying,  "Really,  that  is  a  matter  entirely  of  detail,  to  be  settled  by  me- 
chanics ! " 


TRIAL    OF   THE    LOCOMOTIVE.  253 

shall  be  adopted,  I  understand  has  not  yet  been  finally  deter- 
mined ;  and  both  being  recent  projects,  in  which  I  have  had  no 
experience,  I  cannot  take  upon  me  to  say  whether  either  will 
fully  answer  in  practice."     And  yet  the  locomotive  engine  had 
been  in  regular  use  on  the  Killingworth  Railway  for  fifteen  years 
at  the  time  when  Mr.  Telford  made  this  report  in  1829.     He 
himself  had  laid  out  railways,  and  it  was  part  of  his  business  to 
make  himself  familiar  with  the  best  mode  of  working  them.     But 
the  only  successful  engines  were  those  of  George  Stephenson  > 
and  Mr.  Telford,  in  common  with  the  leading  professional  men 
of  his  day,  studiously  kept  aloof  from  him.     Indeed,  had  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  locomotive  system  depended  upon  the  leading 
engineers,  it  would  have  been  swamped  at  the  beginning.     In  the 
meantime  it  was  absolutely  necessary  that  the  directors  of  the 
Liverpool  Railway  should  come  to  a  decision  whether  fixed  or 
locomotive  engines  were  to  be  employed.     Mr.  Stephenson  urged, 
as  usual,  the  superiority  of  the  latter,  in  point  of  efficiency,  con- 
venience and  economy,  over  any  other  mode  of  traction.     The 
directors,  who  were  no  engineers,  could  not  disregard  the  adverse 
opinions  of  professional  men,  and  they  dechned  to  indorse  his  re- 
commendation.     But   Mr.   Stephenson  had  so  repeatedly   and 
earnestly  urged  upon  them  the  propriety  of  making  a  trial  of  the 
locomotive  befoi-e  coming  to  any  decision  against  it,  that  they  at 
length  authorized  him  to  proceed  with  the  construction  of  one  of 
his  engines  by  way  of  experiment.     In  their  report  to  the  pro- 
prietors at  their  annual  meeting  on  the  27th  March,  1828,  they 
state  that  they  had,  after  due  consideration,  authorized  the  engi- 
neer "  to  prepare  a  locomotive  engine,  which,  from  the  nature  of 
its  construction  and  from  the  experiments  already  made,  he  is  of 
opinion  will  be  efiective  for  the  purposes  of  the  company,  without 
provmg  an  annoyance  to  the  public."     In  the  same  report  the 
directors  express  their  confidence  in  Mr.  Stephenson,  whose  abil- 
ity and  unwearied  activity  they  are  glad  to  take  the  opportunity 
of  acknowledging.     The   locomotive  thus  ordered,  was  placed 


254  LIFE  OF    GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

upon  the  line  in  1829,  and  was  found  of  great  service  in  drawing 
the  wagons  full  of  marl  from  the  two  great  cuttings. 

In  the  meantime  the  discussion  proceeded  as  to  the  kind  of 
power  to  be  permanently  employed  for  the  working  of  the  rail- 
way. The  directors  were  innundated  with  schemes  of  all  sorts 
for  facilitating  locomotion.  The  projectors  of  England,  France 
and  America,  seemed  to  be  let  loose  upon  them.  There  were 
plans  for  Avorking  the  wagons  along  the  line  by  water  power. 
Some  proposed  hydrogen,  and  others  carbonic  acid  gas.  Atmos- 
pheric pressure  had  its  eager  advocates.  And  various  kinds  of 
fixed  and  locomotive  steam  power  were  suggested.  Thomas 
Gray  urged  his  plan  of  a  greased  road  with  cog  rails ;  and 
Messrs.  Vignolles  and  Ericsson  recommended  the  adoption  of  a 
central  friction  rail,  against  which  two  horizontal  rollers  under 
the  locomotive,  pressing  upon  the  sides  of  this  rail,  were  to  afford 
the  means  of  ascending  the  inclined  planes.  The  directors  felt 
themselves  quite  unable  to  choose  from  amidst  this  multitude  of 
projects.  Their  engineer  expressed  himself  as  decided  as  here- 
tofore in  favor  of  smooth  rails  and  locomotive  engines,  which  he 
was  confident  would  be  found  the  most  economical  and  by  far  the 
most  convenient  moving  power  that  could  be  employed.*  The 
Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway  being  now  at  work,  another 
deputation  went  down  personally  to  inspect  the  fixed  and  locomo- 
tive engines  on  that  line,  as  well  as  at  Hetton  and  Killingworth. 
They  returned  to  Liverpool  with  much  information ;  but  their 
testimony  as  to  the  relative  merits  of  the  two  kinds  of  engines 
was  so  contradictory,  that  the  directors  were  as  far  from  a  deci- 
sion as  ever. 

They  then  resolved  to  call  to  their  aid  two  professional  en- 
gineers of  high  standing,  who  should  visit  the  Darlington  and 
Newcastle  railways,  carefully  examine  both  modes  of  working — 
the  fixed  and  locomotive — and  report  to  them  fully  on  the  subject. 
The  gentlemen   selected   were  Mr.  Walker  of  Limehouse,  and 

*  Booth's  Account,  p.  71. 


THE    LOCOMOTIVE    REPORTED    AGAINST,  255 

Mr.  Eastrick  of  Stourbridge.  After  carefully  examining  the 
modes  of  working  the  northern  railways,  they  made  their  report 
to  the  directors  in  the  spring  of  1829.  These  engineers  concurred 
in  recommending  the  employment  of  fixed  engines  in  preference 
to  locomotive  power !  Mr.  Walker  considered  stationary  engines, 
working  on  the  low-pressure  system,  to  be  safer  than  high  pres- 
sui'e  locomotive  engines  which  accompanied  the  passengers  and 
goods  on  their  way.  Even  Mr.  Stephenson's  early  friend, 
Nicholas  Wood,  seems  to  have  agreed  with  the  other  engineers 
in  their  report  against  the  use  of  locomotives.  Mr.  Wood's 
evidence  before  the  Committee  on  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester 
Bill  was  by  no  means  cordial  in  support  of  the  locomotive.  lie 
did  not  seem  to  have  any  faith  in  the  efficiency  of  Stephenson's 
favorite  steam  blast.  Speaking  of  the  Killingworth  engines,  he 
then  said :  "  Those  engines  puff  very  much,  and  the  cause  is  to 
get  an  increased  draught  in  the  chimney ;  now  we  have  got  a 
sufficiency  of  steam  without  it.  I  have  no  doubt  that  by  allowing 
the  steam  to  exhaust  itself  in  a  reservoir,  it  Avould  pass  quietly 
into  the  chimney  without  that  noise."  *  And  now,  it  seems,  he 
had  been  depreciating  the  power  and  speed  of  the  locomotive 
engine  to  the  reporting  engineers.  Mr.  Eastrick  said,  "  It  was 
the  decided  opinion  of  Mx*.  Nicholas  Wood,  when  he  saw  him  at 
Killingworth,  that  no  locomotive  engine  could  travel  more  than 
eight  miles  an  hour."  f  He  quoted  Mr.  Wood's  opinion  against 
Stephenson's  locomotive,  the  "  Lancashire  Witch,"  then  working 
on  the  Bolton  and  Leigh  Eailway,  which  he  held  to  be  an  expe- 
riment of  no  value.  Mr.  Wood  had  even  gone  so  far  as  hint  to 
liim  that  Chat  Moss  must  sink  under  the  weight  of  the  loco- 
motive. 

Although  admitting  with  apparent  candor  that  improvements 
were  to  be  anticipated  in  the  locomotive  engine,  the  reporting 
engineers  clearly  had  no  faith  in  its  power,  nor  belief  in  its 
eventual  success ;  and  the  united  conclusion  of  the  two  was,  that 

*  Evidence,  p.  216.  t  Mr.  Rastrick's  Report,  p.  49. 


256  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

"  considering  the  question  in  every  point  of  view — taking  the 
two  lines  of  road  as  now  forming — and  having  reference  to  econ- 
omy, dispatch,  safety,  and  convenience — our  opinion  is,  tliat,  if 
it  be  resolved  to  make  tlie  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Eailway 
complete  at  once,  so  as  to  accommodate  the  traffic,  or  a  quantity 
approaching  to  it,  the  stationary  reciprocating  system  is  the  best."* 
And  in  order  to  carry  the  system  recommended  by  them  into 
effect,  they  proposed  to  divide  the  railroad  between  Liverpool 
and  Manchester  into  nineteen  stages  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
each,  with  twenty-one  engines  fixed  at  the  different  points  to 
work  the  trains  forward. 

Here  was  the  result  of  all  George  Stephenson's  labors !  The 
two  best  practical  engineers  of  the  day  concurred  in  reporting 
against  the  employment  of  his  locomotive !  Not  a  single  profes- 
sional man  of  eminence  could  be  found  to  coincide  with  him  in  his 
preference  for  locomotive  over  fixed  engine  power.  He  had 
scarcely  a  supporter ;  and  the  locomotive  system  seemed  on  the 
eve  of  being  abandoned.  Still  he  did  not  despair.  With  the 
profession  against  him,  and  public  opinion  against  him — for  the 
most  frightful  stories  were  abroad  respecting  the  dangers,  the 
unsightliness,  and  the  nuisance  which  the  locomotive  would  create 
— Mr.  Stephenson  lield  to  his  purpose.  Even  in  this,  apparently 
the  darkest  hour  of  the  locomotive,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  declare 
that  locomotive  railroads  would,  before  many  years  had  passed, 
be  "  the  great  highways  of  the  world." 

At  the  meetings  of  the  directors,  and  in  his  numei'ous  reports, 
he  combated  in  detail  the  reports  of  the  consulting  engineers — 
urged  that  the  simplicity  of  the  locomotive  engine  power,  and  its 
application  to  any  quantity  of  trade,  would  best  answer  the  pur- 
pose of  the  railway  —  pointed  out  that  the  Messrs.  Walker  and 
Rastrick  had  under-estimated  the  working  expense  of  fixed  en- 

*  Report  to  the  Directors  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway,  on  the  comparatiTC 
Merits  of  Locomotive  and  Fixed  Engines.  By  James  Walker  and  J.  U.  Rastrick,  Civil 
Engineers.    1829. 


MR.  walker's  report.  257 

gines,  while  they  had  overstated  that  of  locomotives ;  but,  above 
all,  he  insisted  that  the  adoption  of  fixed  engines  and  ropes — au 
accident  to  any  of  which  would  involve  the  stoppage  of  the  entire 
arrangements — would  render  the  Liverpool  and  .  Manchester  line 
altogether  unfitted  for  the  purposes  of  a  public  railway.  The 
convenience  of  locomotives,  which  could  be  increased  in  powiu- 
and  number  according  to  the  requirements  of  the  traffic,  appeared 
to  him  one  of  their  chief  advantages  ;  they  would  form  a  series 
of  short  unconnected  chains,  any  one  of  which  could  be  removed 
and  another  at  once  substituted,  in  event  of  an  accident,  without 
interruption  to  the  traffic ;  whereas,  according  to  the  admission 
of  Mr.  "Walker  himself,  the  fixed  engine  system  would  constitute 
a  continuous  chain,  extending  from  Liverpool  to  Manchester, 
"  the  failure  of  one  link  of  which  would  derange  the  whole." 
This,  in  Mr.  Stephenson's  view,  constituted  a  capital  objection  to 
the  adoption  of  the  latter  plan.  Besides,  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
express  his  decided  conviction  that,  in  reporting  against  the  loco- 
motive, the  consulting  engineers  had  not  made  themselves  fully 
acquainted  Avith  its  powers,  and  especially  that  they  had  not 
taken  into  account  the  value  of  the  steam  blast.  They  had 
obviously  overlooked  the  most  important  property  of  this  beauti- 
ful contrivance,  by  which  it  increases  the  production  of  steam 
exactly  in  proportion  to  the  velocity  of  the  engine.  The  quicker 
the  strokes  of  the  piston,  the  stronger  the  draught  in  the  chimney, 
the  more  intense  the  combustion  of  fuel  in  the  furnace,  and  the 
more  rapid  the  production  of  steam,  on  which  the  power  of  the 
engine  depends.  Mr.  Walker,  in  his  report,  assumed  that  the 
power  of  the  engine  Avas  in  an  inverse  ratio  to  its  velocity ;  but 
Mr.  Stephenson  held,  what  has  since  been  clearly  established, 
that,  instead  of  the  steam  becoming  exhausted,  and  the  working 
power  of  the  locomotive  lessened,  in  proportion  to  its  speed,  the 
result  was  the  very  reverse,  and  that  the  expenditure  of  steam 
was,  by  means  of  the  important  contrivance  of  the  blast,  made 

17 


258  LIFE  OF.  GEORGE   STEPUEN30X. 

subservient,  through  the  more  intense  combustion  of  fuel  which 
it  excited,  to  the  increased  production  of  power  in  the  engine.* 

The  directors  could  not  fail  to  have  been  influenced  by  these 
arguments.  But  the  fixed-engine  party  was  very  strong  at  the 
board,  and,  led  by  Mr.  James  Cropper,  they  urged  the  propriety 
of  forthwith  adopting  the  report  of  Messrs.  Walker  and  Rastrick. 
j\Ir.  Sandars  and  Mr.  William  Eathbone,  on  the  other  hand, 
desired  that  a  fair  trial  should  be  given  to  the  locomotive ;  and 
they  with  reason  objected  to  the  expenditure  of  the  large  capital 
necessary  to  construct   the  proposed   engine-houses,  with  their 

*  This  principle  was  afterwards  clearly  illustrated  by  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson,  in  the 
joint  essay  entitled  "  Observations  on  the  Comparative  Merits  of  Locomotive  and  Fixed 
Engines,"  published  by  himself  and  Mr.  Locke  (as  compiled  from  the  Reports  of  Mr. 
George  Stephenson),  in  reply  to  the  Report  of  Mr.  James  Walker,  C.  E.  The  pamphlet 
was  published  in  February,  1830. 

Mr.  Robert  Stephenson  there  observes : 

"  In  locomotive  engines  hitherto  constructed,  the  area  of  the  surface  in  the  boiler 
acted  upon  by  the  fire  is  much  less  than  that  generally  employed  in  stationary  engines  ; 
and  hence  it  is  that  the  consumption  has  been  much  greater  to  produce  equal  effects. 
This  inconvenience  has  been  submitted  to,  in  order  that  simplicity  and  compactness 
might  be  achieved. 

"  To  compensate  for  the  loss  of  heating  surface,  it  was  necessary  to  augment  the  tem- 
perature of  the  fire.  This  was  effected,  shortly  after  the  first  locomotive  engine  was  tried 
on  the  Killingworth  Colliery  Railway,  by  conveying  the  steam  into  the  chimney,  where  it 
escaped  in  a  perpendicular  direction  up  the  centre,  after  it  had  performed  its  office  in 
the  cylinders.  The  velocity  of  the  steam  on  entering  the  chimney  being  much  greater 
than  that  due  to  the  ascending  current  of  air  from  the  natural  draft  of  the  furnace,  the 

effect  was  to  increase  the  draught,  and  consequently  the  temperature  of  tlie  fire 

Since  it  has  been  shown  that  the  power  of  these  engines,  under  similar  circumstances,  is 
chiefly  dependent  on  the  quantity  of  fuel  consumed,  it  is  evident  that,  by  this  application 
ol  the  waste  steam  to  accelerate  combustion,  the  power  of  the  engine  actually  varies 
under  different  velocities.  This  curious  fact,  connected  with  the  construction  of  loco- 
motive engines  on  the  principle  of  the  '  Rocket,'  has  not  hitherto,  wa  believe,  been 
represented  in  this  manner ;  and  it  is  so  important,  that  any  calculation  neglecting  its 
consideration,  at  high  velocities,  must  be  regarded  as  futile  and  absolutely  false. 

'•  Mr.  Walker  takes  tbe  power  of  a  locomotive  engine,  of  the  size  anJ  construction  of 
those  used  upon  the  Darlington  Railway,  equal  to  10  horses,  at  2}i  miles  an  hour.  Pre- 
suming that  the  effect  is  inversely  as  the  velocities,  he  reduces  the  power  of  the  engine  at 
10  miles  an  hour  to  2fj  horses'  power,  or  =  375  lbs.  This  conclusion  would  have  been 
perfectly  correct  if  the  quantity  of  steam  generated  in  the  boiler  in  equal  times  were  the 
same  at  all  velocities ;  but  the  fallacy  of  this  assumption,  in  reference  to  locomotive 
engines,  has  been  sufficiently  explained  in  the  foregoing  remarks." — Obsirvations,  etc, 
pp.&S. 


PRIZE   FOR   THE    BEST    LOCOMOTIVE.  259 

fixed  engines,  ropes,  and  machinery,  until  they  had  tested  the 
powers  of  the  locomotive,  -as  recommended  by  their  own  engineer. 
Mr.  Stephenson  continued  to  urge  upon  them  that  the  locomotive 
was  yet  capable  of  gi-eat  improvements,  if  proper  inducements 
were  held  out  to  inventors  and  macliinists  to  make  them  ;  and  he 
pledged  himself  that,  if  time  were  given  liim,  he  would  construct 
an  engine  that  should  satisfy  their  requirements,  and  prove  itself 
capable  of  working  heavy  loads  along  the  railway  with  speed, 
regularity,  and  safety. 

The  directors  were  more  bewildered  than  ever.  Yet  they  had 
confidence  in  their  engineer,  and  had  but  recently  borne  public 
testimony  to  his  practical  efficiency.  They  had  seen  him  form  a 
road  which  other  engineers  of  high  reputation  had  repeatedly 
declared  to  be  impracticable ;  and  it  might  be  the  same  with  the 
locomotive. 

At  length,  influenced  by  his  persistent  earnestness  not  less  than 
by  his  arguments,  the  directors,  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Harrison, 
determined  to  offer  a  prize  of  500/.  for  the  best  locomotive  engine 
which,  on  a  certain  day,  should  be  produced  on  the  railway,  and 
perform  certain  specified  conditions  iia  the  most  satisfactory 
manner.     The  conditions  were  these — 

1.  The  engine  must  efiectually  consume  its  own  smoke. 

2.  The  engme,  if  of  six  tons  weight,  must  be  able  to  draw  after 
it,  day  by  day,  twenty  tons  weight  (including  the  tender  and 
water-tank),  at  ten  miles  an  hour,  with  a  pressure  of  steam  on  the 
boiler  not  exceeding  fifty  pounds  to  the  square  inch. 

3.  The  boiler  must  have  two  safety  valves,  neither  of  which 
must  be  fastened  down,  and  one  of  them  be  completely  out  of  the 
control  of  the  engineman. 

4.  The  engine  and  boiler  must  be  supported  on  springs,  and 
rest  on  six  wheels,  the  height  of  the  whole  not  exceeding  fifteen 
feet  to  the  top  of  the  chimney. 

5L  The  engine,  with  water,  must  not  weigh  more  than  six  tons  ; 
but  an  engine  of  less  weight  would  be  preferred  on  its  drawing  a 


260  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

proportionate  load  behind  it ;  if  of  only  four  and  a  half  tons,  then 
it  might  be  put  on  only  four  wheels.  The  Company  to  be  at 
liberty  to  test  the  boiler,  etc.,  by  a  pressure  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  to  the  square  inch. 

6.  A  mercurial  gauge  must  be  affixed  to  the  machine,  showing 
the  steam  pressure  above  forty-five  pounds  per  square  inch. 

7.  The  engine  must  be  delivered,  complete  and  ready  for  trial, 
at  the  Liverpool  end  of  the  railway,  not  later  than  the  first  of 
October,  1829. 

8.  The  price  of  the  engine  must  not  exceed  550?. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  requirements  of  the  directors  as  to 
speed  were  not  excessive.  All  that  they  asked  for  was,  that  a 
speed  of  ten  miles  an  hour  should  be  maintained.  Perhaps  they 
had  in  mind  the  severe  animadversions  of  the  Quarterly  Review- 
er on  the  absurdity  of  traveling  at  a  greater  velocity,  and  also  the 
remarks  published  by  Mr.  Nicholas  Wood,  whom  they  selected 
to  be  one  of  the  judges  of  the  competition,  in  conjunction  with 
Mr.  Rastrick  of  Stourbridge,  and  INIr.  Kennedy  of  Manchester.* 

It  was  now  generally  felt  that  the  fate  of  railways  in  a  great 
measure  depended  upon  the  issue  of  this  appeal  to  the  mechanical 
genius  of  England.  When  the  advertisement  of  the  prize  for  the 
best  locomotive  was  published,  scientific  men  began  more  partic- 
ularly to  direct  their  attention  to  the  new  power  which  was  thus 
struggling  into  existence.  In  the  meantime  public  opinion  on 
the  subject  of  railway  working  remained  suspended,  and  the 
progress  of  the  undertaking  was  watched  with  the  most  intense 
interest. 

*  Many  persons  of  influence  declared  the  conditions  published  by  the  directors  of  the 
railway  chimerical  in  the  extreme.  One  gentleman  of  some  eminence  in  Liverpool,  Mr. 
P.  Ewart,  who  afterwards  filled  the  office  of  government  inspector  of  post-oSice  steam 
packets,  declared  that  only  a  parcel  of  charlatans  wo'".ld  ever  have  issued  such  a  set  of 
conditions  ;  that  it  had  been  proved  to  be  impossible  *<?  jjiaJie  a  locomotive  engine  go  »* 
ten  miles  an  hour ;  but  if  it  ever  was  done,  he  would  eat  a  stewed  engine-wheel  to  bis 
breakfast '. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  "ROCKET." 


We  now  return  to  the  history  of  the  locomotive  factory  com- 
menced by  Mr.  Stephenson  and  his  associates  at  Newcastle  in 
the  year  1824.  Its  establishment  at  that  early  period  was  a 
most  important  step  in  the  progress  of  the  railway  system,  and 
mainly  contributed  to  the  eventual  triumph  of  the  locomotive. 
Mr.  Stephenson  engaged  skilled  mechanics  in  the  workshops,  by 
whose  example  others  were  trained  and  educated.  Having  their 
attention  especially  directed  to  the  fabrication  of  locomotives, 
they  acquired  a  skill  and  precision  in  the  manufacture  of  the 
several  parts,  which  gave  to  the  Stephenson  factory  a  prestige 
which  was  afterwards  a  source  of  no  small  profit  to  its  founders. 
It  was  a  school  or  college,  in  which  the  locomotive  workmen  of 
the  kingdom  were  trained ;  and  many  of  the  most  celebrated 
engineers  of  Europe,  America,  and  India,  acquired  their  best 
practical  knowledge  in  its  workshops. 

Several  years,  however,  passed  before  the  factory  so  much  as 
paid  expenses.  For  the  first  four  or  five  years  it  was  carried  on 
at  considerable  loss ;  and  Edward  Pease  wished  to  retire,  but 
Mr.  Stephenson  could  not  provide  the  necessary  money  to  buy 
him  out.  It  must,  therefore,  be  persevered  in  until  the  locomo- 
tive had  established  itself  in  public  estimation  as  a  practicable 
and  economical  motive  power.  And  that  time  was  now  fast  ap- 
proaching. 

(261) 


262  LIFE   OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Eobert  Stej)henson  set  out  for  the 
mines  of  Columbia,  in  South  America,  in  the  year  1824,  during 
the  time  that  the  works  of  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway 
were  in  progress.  He  remained  there  until  the  middle  of  1827, 
when  he  received  a  letter  from  his  father  ursins  him  to  come 
home  and  take  charge  of  the  Newcastle  works,  as  the  time  w^as 
coming  when  there  would  probably  be  a  fair  chance  for  the  loco- 
motive. Mr.  Stephenson  felt  that  he  was  now  engaged  in  the 
greatest  enterprise  of  his  life ;  and  he  wanted  some  fast  friend 
and  helper  to  stand  by  him  and  aid  him  in  developing  his  plans 
as  to  the  locomotive  railway  system.  He  knew  that  he  could 
rely  upon  the  now  matured  judgment  of  his  son,  and  he  urged 
him  to  return  home  forthwith.  Accordingly,  Kobert  made  imme- 
diate arrangements  to  leave  Columbia  for  England,  which  he 
reached  in  December,  1827. 

On  liis  way  home,  Mr.  Stephenson  had  a  singular  rencontre 
with  a  person  well  known  in  connection  with  the  early  history  of 
the  locomotive.  He  was  waiting  for  a  ship  in  which  to  embark 
for  New  York,  at  the  small  town  of  Cartagena,  on  the  Gulf  of 
Darien.  No  vessel  being  ready  to  sail,  he  was  under  the  neces- 
sity of  staying  for  some  days  in  the  place,  then  desolated  by  the 
ravages  of  the  yellow  fever.  Sitting  one  day  in  the  large,  bai*e, 
comfortless  room  of  the  miserable  hotel,  of  the  almost  deserted 
town,  he  observed  two  strangers,  whom  he  at  once  perceived  to 
be  English.  One  of  the  strangers  was  a  tall,  gaunt  man,  with 
shrunken  flesh,  on  which  his  shabby  clothes  hung  loosely.  On 
making  inquiry,  he  found  it  was  Trevethick !  He  was  on  his 
way  from  the  gold  mines  of  Peru,  and  was  penniless !  Still  he 
was  full  of  speculation,  and  was  returning  to  England,  where  he 
proposed  to  organize  a  gold-mining  company,  that  was  to  make 
the  fortunes  of  thousands.  Trevethick  and  his  friend  had  lost 
everything  in  their  journey  across  the  country  from  Pei'u.  They 
had  forded  rivers,  and  wandered  through  forests,  leaving  all  their 
baggage  behind  them,  and  had  reached  thus  far  with  only  the 


ADVENTURES    OF    TREVETHICK.  263 

clothes  upon  their  backs.  Their  money  was  all  spent,  and  they 
were  only  too  happy  to  have  arrived  at  Cartagena  with  their 
lives. 

The  adventures  of  Trevethick  in  connection  with  his  gold- 
mining  speculations,  have  almost  the  air  of  romance.     It  will  be 
remembered  that  his  high-pressure  engine,  adapted  for  traveling 
on  roads,  was  invented  as  early  as  1802.     The  model  was  beau- 
tifully finished,  and  found  its  way  to  London  as  a  mechanical 
curiosity.      There  it  remained  until  the  year  1811,  when  M. 
Francois  Uville  arrived  in  England  from  Peru,  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  steam  machinery  wherewith  to  clear  the  gold  mines 
of  water,  by  which  some  of  the  richest  in  that  country  had  been 
totally  drowned,  and  consequently  fallen  into  decay.      Uvilld, 
however,  found  little  encouragement  to  pursue  his  plan.     Tlie 
rarity  of  the  atmosphere  in  the  lofty  regions  of  the  Cordilleras, 
and  the  impracticability  of  conveying  large  engines  over  almost 
inaccessible  mountains,  presented  diihculties  apparently  too  great 
to  be  surmounted.     He  was  about  to  leave  England  in  despair, 
when,  one  day,  passing  through  a  street  leading  out  of  Fitzroy- 
square,  in  London,  he  accidentally  observed  the  model  of  a  steam 
engine  exposed  for  sale  in  the  shop  of  a  Mr.  Roland.     It  wa.- 
Trevethick's  model  of  his  locomotive  engine.     Uville  was  struck 
with  its  simplicity  and  excellence  of  construction,  and  bought  it 
at  once  for  twenty  guineas.     He  carried  the  model  with  him  to 
Lima,  and  tried  its  effects  on  the  highest  ridges  of  Pasco.     The 
action  of  the  engine  exceeded  even  his  sanguine  expectations. 
An  association  was  foi-med  in  Lima  for  the  purpose  of  contract- 
ing with  the  proprietors  of  the  flooded  gold  mines,  to  clear  them 
of  water,  by  powerful  engines,  similarly   constructed ;  and  M. 
Uville  again  embarked  for  England,  to  discover  Trevethick,  and 
enlist  him  in  the  speculation. 

Trevethick's  sanguine  mind  was  inflamed  by  the  prospects 
held  out  by  his  new  friend.  He  entered  into  an  engagement  to 
provide  nine  j)umi)ing  engines,  made  after  his  locomotive  model, 


264  LIFE   OF    GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

at  a  cost  of  about  10,000/. ;  and  they  were  made  and  shipped  for 
Lima,  in  September,  1814. 

Trevethick  was  meanwhile  engaged  in  providing  further  sup- 
plies of  steam-engines,  as  well  as  in  constructing  coining  appara- 
tus for  the  Peruvian  mint,  and  furnaces  for  purifying  the  silver 
ore  by  fusion.  In  October,  1816,  he  set  sail  for  Lima,  thinking 
no  more  of  the  locomotive  engine,  which  was  now  safe  in  the 
hands  of  George  Stephenson.  Trevethick  had  a  more  immedi- 
ate prospect  before  him  of  both  fame  and  gain.  On  landing  at 
Lima,  he  was  received  with  public  honors  and  rejoicings,  was 
immediately  presented  to  the  Viceroy,  and  most  graciously  re- 
ceived. His  advent  was  described  as  forming  an  epoch  in  the 
prosperity  of  Peru.  The  Viceroy  ordered  a  guard  of  honor  to 
attend  him ;  and  M.  Uville,  writing  to  his  associates,  declared 
that  Heaven  had  sent  them  Don  Ricardo  Trevethick  for  the 
prosperity  of  the  mines,  and  that  "  the  Lord  Warden  had  pro- 
posed to  erect  his  statute  in  massy  silver."  His  friends  at  home 
hailed  with  delight  the  triumphant  success  of  Trevethick ;  and, 
in  desci-ibing  these  transactions,  they  stated  that  his  emoluments 
from  the  mines,  taken  at  a  moderate  estimate,  amounted  to 
100,000/.  a  year!* 

Robert  Stephenson's  surprise  may,  therefore,  be  imagined, 
when  he  found  this  potent  Don  Ricardo  in  the  inn  at  Cartagena, 
reduced  almost  to  his  last  shilling,  and  unable  to  proceed  further. 
Trevethick  had  realized  the  truth  of  the  Spanish  proverb,  that  a 
"  silver  mine  brings  misery,  a  gold  mine  ruin."  Mr.  Stephenson 
lent  him  50/.,  and  thus  helped  him  on  his  way  back  to  England ; 
but  although  Trevethick  was  heard  of  in  England  afterwards,  he 
had  no  part  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  locomotive.f 

*  Geological  Transactions  of  Cornwall,  vol.  i,  p.  222. 

■f  On  the  12th  of  August,  1831,  Mr.  Trevethick  appeared  as  a  witness  before  the  select 
con.mittee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  employment  of  steam-carriages  on  common 
roads.  He  said  "  he  had  been  abroad  a  good  many  years,  and  had  had  nothing  to  do  with 
8team-"Arriages  until  very  lately.  He  had  it  now,  however,  in  contem.plation  to  do  a  great 
deal  on  common  roads,  and,  with  that  view,  had  taken  out  a  patent  for  an  entirely  new 


ROBERT  Stephenson's  return.  265 

INIr.  Robert  Stephenson,  on  his  arrival  in  England,  proceeded 
to  take  charge  of  the  locomotive  manufactory  at  Newcastle, 
thenceforward  devoting  himself  assiduously  to  the  development 
of  his  father's  ideas  of  the  locomotive ;  and,  by  the  great  addi- 
tions made  by  him  to  its  working  powers,  from  time  to  time,  as 
will  afterwards  be  seen,  he  contributed  in  an  eminent  degree  to 
the  ultimate  success  of  the  railway  system. 

During  the  progress  of  the  important  discussion  at  Liverpool, 
with  reference  to  the  kind  of  power  to  be  employed  in  working 
the  railway,  the  father  and  son  were  in  constant  communication, 
and  Robert  made  frequent  visits  to  Liverpool,  for  the  purpose  of 
assisting  his  father  in  the  preparation  of  his  reports  to  the  board 
on  the  subject.  Mr.  Swanwick  remembers  the  vivid  interest  of 
the  evening  discussions  which  then  took  place  between  father  and 
son  as  to  the  best  mode  of  increasing  the  powers  and  perfecting 
the  mechanism  of  the  locomotive.  He  wondered  at  their  quick 
perception  and  rapid  judgment  of  each  other's  suggestions,  at  the 
mechanical  difficulties  which  they  anticipated  and  at  once  pro- 
vided for  in  the  practical  arrangement  of  the  machine ;  and  he 
speaks  of  these  evenings  as  most  interesting  displays  of  two 
actively  ingenious  and  able  minds,  stimulating  each  other  to  feats 
of  mechanical  invention,  by  which  it  was  ordained  that  the  loco- 
motive engine  should  become  what  it  now  is.  These  discussions 
became  more  frequent,  and  still  more  interesting,  after  the  public 
prize  had  been  offered  for  the  best  locomotive  by  the  directors  of 
the  railway,  and  the  working  plans  of  the  engine  which  they  pro- 
posed to  construct  had  to  be  settled. 

One  of  the  most  important  considerations  in  the  new  engine 
was  the  arrangement  of  the  boiler  and  the  extension  of  its  heat- 
ing surface  to  enable  steam  enough  to  be  raised  rapidly  and  con- 
tinuously, for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  high  rates  of  speed — 
the  effect  of  high-pressure  engines  being  ascertained  to  depend 

engine  the  arrangements  in  which  were  calculated  to  obviate  all  the  difficulties  which 
had  hitherto  stood  in  the  way  of  traveling  on  common  roads" 


266  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

mainly  upon  the  quantity  of  steam  which  the  boiler  can  generate, 
and  upon  its  degree  of  elasticity  when  produced.  The  quantity 
of  steam  so  generated,  it  will  be  obvious,  must  chiefly  depend 
upon  the  quantity  of  fuel  consumed  in  the  furnace,  and,  by  con- 
sequence, upon  the  high  rate  of  temperature  maintained  there. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  Mr.  Stephenson's  first  Killing- 
worth  engines,  he  invented  and  applied  the  ingenious  method  of 
stimulating  combustion  in  the  furnace,  by  throwing  the  waste 
steam  into  the  chimney,  after  performing  its  office  in  the  cylin- 
ders, thus  accelerating  the  ascent  of  the  current  of  air,  greatly 
increasing  the  draught,  and  consequently  the  temperature  of  the 
fire.  This  plan  was  adopted  by  him,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
as  early  as  1815  ;  and  it  was  so  successful  that  he  himself  attrib- 
uted to  it  the  greater  economy  of  the  locomotive  as  compared 
with  horse  power,  and  hence  its  continued  use  upon  the  Killing- 
worth  Railway.  This  arrangement  was  adopted,  without  excep- 
tion, in  all  the  locomotives  subsequently  constructed  by  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson for  the  Killingworth,  Hetton,  and  Stockton  and  Darling- 
ton Railways. 

Though  the  adoption  of  the  steam  blast  greatly  quickened 
combustion  and  contributed  to  the  rapid  production  of  high-press- 
ure steam,  the  limited  amount  of  heating  surface  presented  to 
the  fire  was  still  felt  to  be  an  obstacle  to  the  complete  success  of 
the  locomotive  engine.  Mr.  Stephenson  endeavored  to  overcome 
this  by  lengthening  the  boilers,  and  increasing  the  surface  pre- 
sented by  the  flue  tubes.  He  also  further  endeavored  to  meet 
the  difficulty  by  doubling  the  flue,  the  last  engine  which  he  con- 
structed for  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway,  previous  to 
the  building  of  the  "  Rocket,"  being  constructed  with  a  double 
tube,  which  thus  presented  a  considerably  greater  surface  to  the 
fire.  The  "  Lancashire  Witch,"  built  by  him  for  the  Bolton  and 
Leigh  Railway,  and  employed  in  the  completion  of  the  Liver- 
pool and  Manchester  Railway  embankments,  was  also  constructed 
with  a  double  tube,  each  of  which  contained  a  fire,  and  passed 


TUBULAR   BOILERS.  267 

longitudinally  through  the  boiler.  But  this  arrangement  neces- 
sarily led  to  a  considerable  increase  in  the  weight  of  these  en- 
gines, which  amounted  to  about  twelve  tons  each ;  and  as  six  tons 
was  the  limit  allowed  for  engines  admitted  to  the  Liverpool  com- 
petition, it  Avas  clear  that  the  time  was  come  when  the  Killing- 
worth  engine  must  undergo  a  further  imj^ortant  modification. 

For  many  years  previous  to  this  period,  ingenious  mechanics 
had  been  engaged  in  attempting  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  best 
and  most  economical  boiler  for  the  production  of  high-pressure 
steam.  As  early  as  1803,  Mr.  Woolf  patented  a  tubular  boiler, 
which  Avas  extensively  employed  at  the  Cornish  mines,  and  was 
found  greatly  to  facilitate  the  production  of  steam,  by  the  exten- 
sion of  the  heating  surface.  This  boiler  consisted  of  eight  tubes 
placed  horizontally  in  the  centre  of  the  longitudinal  furnace ;  and 
they  were  so  arranged  that  the  whole  current  of  the  flame  passed 
over  them  before  it  escaped  into  the  chimney.  Mr.  Woolf  stated 
the  object  of  the  arrangement  to  be,  that  "  the  tubes  composing 
the  boiler  should  be  so  combined  and  arranged,  and  the  furnace 
so  constructed,  as  to  make  the  fire,  the  flame,''and  the  heated  air 
to  act  around,  over,  and  among  the  tubes,  embracing  the  largest 
possible  quantity  of  their  surface."  In  this  arrangement  the 
steam  and  water  were  within  the  tubes.  Various  modifications 
of  this  boiler  were  afterwards  adopted.  The  ingenious  Treve- 
thick,  in  his  patent  of  1815,  seems  also  to  have  entertained  the 
idea  of  employing  a  boiler  constructed  of  "  small  perpendicular 
tubes,"  with  the  object  of  increasing  the  heating  surface.  These 
tubes  were  to  be  closed  at  the  bottom,  opening  into  the  common 
reservoir,  from  whence  they  were  to  receive  their  water,  and 
into  which  the  steam  of  all  the  tubes  was  to  be  united.  It  does 
not,  however,  appear  that  any  locomotive  was  ever  constructed 
according  to  this  patent.  Mr.  W.  H.  James,  a  son  of  the  first 
surveyor  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway,  patented  a 
new  form  of  boiler  in  1825,  the  object  of  which  was  to  increase 
the  heating  surface  by  means  of  a  series  of  annular  tubes  placed 


268  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

side  by  side,  and  bolted  together,  so  as  to  fomi  by  their  union  a 
long  cylindrical  boiler,  in  the  centre  of  which,  at  one  end,  the 
fireplace  was  situated.  A  model  of  this  tubular  boiler  was  shown 
by  Mr.  James  to  both  Mr.  Losh  and  Mr.  Stephenson,  about  1827. 
Losh  expressed  the  opinion  that,  if  such  a  boiler  could  be  put  to 
Stephenson's  engine,  there  would  be  no  limits  to  its  power ;  and 
Mr.  James  spoke  of  a  speed  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  miles  an 
hour,  at  which  Mr.  Stephenson  shook  his  head,  remembering,  as 
no  doubt  he  did,  his  severe  cross-examination  and  denunciation  by 
counsel  before  the  House  of  Commons,  for  venturing  to  say  that 
twelve  miles  an  hour  might  be  achieved  by  the  locomotive  on 
railways ;  and  he  said  that  was  a  rate  of  speed  they  did  not  now 
dare  to  talk  about.  Mr.  Goldsworthy  Gurney,  the  persevering 
inventor  of  steam-carriages  for  traveling  on  common  roads,  also 
applied  the  tubular  principle  extensively  in  his  boiler,  the  steam 
being  generated  within  the  tubes.  Messrs.  Summers  and  Ogle 
invented  a  boiler  for  their  turnpike-road  steam-cai'riage,  consisting 
of  a  series  of  tubes  placed  vertically  over  the  furnace,  through 
which  the  heated  air  passed  before  reaching  the  chimney.  The 
application  of  the  same  principle  to  the  railway  locomotive,  it 
has  been  stated  by  a  French  author,*  was  first  effected  by  M. 
Seguin,  the  engineer  of  the  Lyons  and  St.  Etienne  Railway. 
He  claimed  to  have  patented  a  boiler,  in  1828,  in  which  he  placed 
a  series  of  horizontal  tubes  immersed  in  the  water,  through  which 
the  hot  air  passed  in  streamlets,  thus  greatly  increasing  the  heat- 
ing surface,  and  consequently  the  evaporative  power.  Two  loco- 
motives had  been  constructed  at  ]Mi'.  Stephenson's  works  in  New- 
castle, for  the  St.  Etienne  Railway,  which  were  sent  to  France,  in 
1829.  M.  Seguin  found  that,  by  applying  his  invention  to  these 
engines  in  conjunction  with  the  steam  blast,  he  was  at  once  ena- 
bled greatly  to  increase  their  power  and  speed.  The  same  idea 
of  a  tubular  boiler  had  occurred  to  Mr.  Henry  Booth,  the  secre- 
tary of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway,  who  strongly 

*  Lobet,  Des   Chemins  de  Fer  de  France,  1845. 


THE   MULTITUBULAR    BOILER.  269 

V 
urged  its  adoption  by  Mr.  Stephenson  in  the  construction  of  the 

"  Eocket "  engine. 

On  the  subject  of  this  imjjortant  combination,  we  cannot  do 
better  than  here  quote  the  words  of  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson  him- 
self, in  a  statement  with  wliieh  he  has  favored  us : 

"  After  the  opening  of  the  Stockton  and  Darlington,  and  before 
that  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway,  my  father  direct- 
ed his  attention  to  various  methods  of  increasing  the  evaporative 
power  of  the  boiler  of  the  locomotive  engine.  Amongst  other 
attempts,  he  introduced  tubes  (as  had  before  been  done  in  other 
engines),  small  tubes  containing  water,  by  which  the  heating  sur- 
face was  materially  increased.  Two  engines  with  such  tubes 
were  constructed  for  the  St.  Etienne  Railway,  in  France,  which 
was  in  progress  of  construction  in  the  year  1828  ;  but  the  expe- 
dient was  not  successful — the  tubes  became  furred  with  deposit, 
and  burned  out. 

"  Other  engines,  with  boilers  of  a  variety  of  construction,  were 
made,  all  having  in  view  the  increase  of  the  heating  surface,  as 
it  then  became  obvious  to  my  father  that  the  speed  of  the  engine 
could  not  be  increased  without  increasing  the  evaporative  power 
of  the  boiler.  Increase  of  surface  was  in  some  cases  obtained  by 
inserting  two  tubes,  each  containing  a  separate  fire,  into  the  boiler ; 
in  other  cases  the  same  result  was  obtained  by  returning  the  same 
tube  through  the  boiler ;  but  it  Avas  not  until  he  was  engaged  in 
making  some  experiments,  during  the  progress  of  the  Liverpool 
and  Manchester  Railway,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Henry  Booth, 
the  well  known  secretary  of  the  company,  that  any  decided  move- 
ment in  this  direction  was  effected,  and  that  the  present  multitu- 
bular boiler  assumed  a  practicable  shape.  It  was  in  conjunction 
with  Mr,  Booth  that  my  father  constructed  the  '  Rocket '  engine. 

"At  this  stage  of  the  locomotive  engine,  we  have  in  the  multi- 
tubular boiler  the  only  important  principle  of  construction  intro- 
duced, in  addition  to  those  which  my  father  had  brought  to  bear 
at  a  very  early  age  (between  1815  and  1821)  on  the  Killing- 


270  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

worth  Colliery  Railway.  In  the  '  Rocket'  engine,  the  power  of 
generating  steam  was  prodigiously  increased  by  the  adoption  of 
the  multitubular  system.  Its  efficiency  was  further  augmented 
by  narrowing  the  orifice  by  which  the  waste  steam  escaped  into 
the  chimney ;  for  by  this  means  the  velocity  of  the  air  in  the 
chimney — or,  in  other  words,  the  draught  of  the  fire — was  in- 
creased to  an  extent  that  far  surpassed  the  expectations  even  of 
those  who  had  been  the  authors  of  the  combination. 

"From  the  date  of  running  the  'Rocket'  on  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  Railway,  the  locomotive  engine  has  received  many 
minor  improvements  in  detail,  and  especially  in  accuracy  of  work- 
manship ;  but  in  no  essential  particular  does  the  existing  locomo- 
tive differ  from  that  which  obtained  the  prize  in  the  celebrated 
competition  at  Rainhill. 

"In  this  instance,  as  in  every  other  important  step  in  science 
or  art,  various  claimants  have  arisen  for  the  merit  of  having 
suggested  the  multitubular  boiler  as  a  means  of  obtaining  the 
necessary  heating  surface.  Whatever  may  be  the  value  of  their 
respective  claims,  the  public,  useful  and  extensive  application  of 
the  invention  must  certainly  date  from  the  experiments  made  at 
Rainhill.  M.  Seguin,  for  whom  engines  had  been  made  by  my 
father  some  few  years  previously,  states  that  he  patented  a  sim- 
ilar multitubular  boiler  in  France,  several  years  before.  A  still 
prior  claim  is  made  by  Mr.  Stevens,  of  New  York,  who  was  all 
but  a  rival  to  IMr.  Fulton  in  the  introduction  of  steam-boats  on 
the  American  rivers.  It  is  stated  that  as  early  as  1807  he  used 
the  multitubular  boiler.  These  claimants  may  all  be  entitled  to 
great  and  independent  merit ;  but  certain  it  is  that  the  perfect 
establishment  of  the  success  of  the  multitubular  boiler  is  more 
immediately  due  to  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Henry  Booth,  and  to 
my  father's  practical  knowledge  in  cai'rying  it  out." 

The  fitting  of  the  copper  tubes  in  the  boiler  of  the  "Rocket" 
so  as  to  prevent  leakage,  was  a  work  of  some  difficulty.  They 
were  manufactured  by  a  Newcastle  coppersmith,  and  soldered  to 


CONSTRUCTION    OF   THE   "ROCKET."  271 

brass  screws  wliich  were  screwed  into  the  boiler  ends,  standing 
out  in  great  knobs.  When  the  tubes  were  thus  fitted,  and  the 
boiler  was  filled  with  water,  hydraulic  pressure  Avas  applied ;  but 
the  water  squirted  out  at  everj  joint,  and  the  factory  floor  was 
soon  flooded.  Robert  w^ent  home  in  despair ;  and  in  the  first 
moment  of  grief,  he  wrote  to  his  father  that  the  whole  thing  was 
a  failure.  By  return  of  post  came  a  letter  from  his  father,  telling 
him  that  despair  was  not  to  be  thought  of — that  he  must  "try 
again;"  and  he  suggested  a  mode  of  overcoming  the  difficulty, 
w'hich,  singularly  enough,  his  son  had  already  anticipated  and 
proceeded  to  adopt.  It  was,  to  bore  clean  holes  in  the  boiler 
ends,  fit  in  the  smooth  copper  tubes  as  tightly  as  possible,  solder 
up,  and  then  raise  the  steam.  This  plan  succeeded  perfectly,  the 
expansion  of  the  copper  tubes  completely  filling  up  all  interstices, 
and  producing  a  perfectly  water-tight  boiler,  capable  of  with- 
standing extreme  internal  pressure. 

The  mode  of  employing  the  steam-blast  for  the  purpose  of 
increasing  the  draught  in  the  chimney,  was  also  the  subject  of 
numerous  experiments.  The  increased  effect  obtained  by  con- 
tracting the  orifice  of  the  blast-pipe  had  by  this  time  been  ascer- 
tained, although  doubts  were  expressed  whether  the  greater 
draught  thus  secured  was  not  counterbalanced  in  some  degree  by 
the  negative  pressure  upon  the  piston.  A  series  of  experiments 
was  made  with  blast-pipes  of  different  diameters ;  and  their  efii- 
ciency  was  tested  by  the  amount  of  vacuum  that  was  produced 
in  the  smoke-box.  The  degree  of  rarefaction  was  determined 
by  a  glass  tube  fixed  to  the  bottom  of  the  smoke-box,  and  de- 
scending into  a  bucket  of  water,  the  tube  being  open  at  both 
ends.  As  the  rarefaction  took  place,  the  water  w'ould  of  course 
rise  in  the  tube  ;  and  the  height  to  which  it  rose  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  water  in  the  bucket,  was  made  the  measure  of  the 
amount  uf  rarefaction.  These  experiments  pi'oved  that  a  con- 
siderable increase  of  draught  was  obtained  by  the  contraction  of 
the  orifice ;  accordingly,  the  two  blast-pipes  opening  from  tfie 


272  LIFE,  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

cylinders  into  either  side  of  the  "Rocket"  chimney,  and  turned 
up  within  it  *  were  contracted  slightly  below  the  area  of  the 
steam-ports ;  and  before  the  engine  left  the  factory,  the  water 
rose  in  the  glass  tube  three  inches  above  the  water  in  the  bucket. 

The  other  arrangements  of  the  "Rocket"  were  briefly  these: 
The  boiler  was  cylindrical  with  flat  ends,  six  feet  in  length,  and 
three  feet  four  inches  in  diameter.  The  upper  half  of  the  boiler 
was  used  as  a  reservoir  for  the  steam,  the  lower  half  being  filled 
with  water.  Through  the  lower  part,  twenty-five  copper  tubes 
of  three  inches  diameter  extended,  which  were  open  to  the  fire- 
box at  one  end,  and  to  the  chimney  at  the  other.  The  fire-box 
or  furnace,  two  feet  wide  and  three  feet  high,  Avas  attached  imme- 
diately beliind  the  boiler,  and  was  also  surrounded  with  water. 
The  cylinders  of  the  engine  were  placed  on  each  side  of  the 
boiler,  in  an  oblique  position,  one  end  being  nearly  level  with  the 
top  of  the  boiler  at  its  after  end,  and  the  other  pointing  towards 
the  centre  of  the  foremost  or  driving  pair  of  wheels,  with  which 
the  connection  was  directly  made  from  the  piston-road  to  a  pin 
on  the  outside  of  the  wheel.  Tlie  engine,  together  with  its  load 
of  water,  weighed  only  four  tons  and  a  quarter ;  and  it  was  sup- 
ported on  four  wheels,  not  coupled.  The  tender  was  four-wheeled, 
and  similar  in  shape  to  a  wagon — the  foremost  part  holding  the 
fuel,  and  the  hind  part  a  water  cask. 

When  the  "Rocket"  was  completed,  it  was  placed  upon  the 
Killingworth  Railway  for  the  purpose  of  experiment.  The  new 
boiler  arrangement  was  found  perfectly  successful.  The  steam 
was  raised  rapidly  and  continuously,  and  in  a  quantity  which 
then  appeared  marvelous.  The  same  evening,  a  letter  was  dis- 
patched to  George   Stephenson  at  Liverpool,  informing  him,  to 

*  The  alteration  afterwards  made  in  the  blast  of  the  "Rocket,"  after  the  competition 
at  Rainhill,  by  which  the  two  separate  exit  pipes  were  thrown  into  one,  as  in  the  original 
Killingworth  engines,  was  adopted  rather  with  the  view  of  lessening  the  space  occupied 
by  them  in  the  chimney  than  because  of  any  increased  effect  thereby  secured,  though  it 
is  probable  that  the  jet  of  steam  is  rather  more  efficient  when  thrown  upwards  in  the 
exact  centre  of  the  chimney  than  when  slightly  on  one  side. 


THE    "rocket"    completed. 


273 


his  great  joy,  that  the  "Rocket"  was  "all  right,"  and  would  be 
in  complete  working  trim  by  the  day  of  trial.  The  engine  was 
shortly  after  sent  by  wagon  to  Carlisle,  and  thence  shipped  for 
Liverpool. 


The   Rocket. 


18 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

THE  COMPETITION   OF  LOCOMOTITES  AT  RAINHILL. 

The  time,  so  much  longed  for  by  George  Stephenson,  had  now 
arrived,  when  the  merits  of  the  passenger  locomotive  were  about 
to  be  put  to  the  test.  He  had  fought  the  battle  for  it  until  now 
almost  single-handed.  Engrossed  by  his  daily  labors  and  anxie- 
ties, and  harassed  by  difficulties  and  discouragements  which  would 
have  crushed  the  spirit  of  a  less  resolute  man,  he  had  held  firmly 
to  his  purpose  through  good  and  through  evil  report.  The  hos- 
tihty  which  he  experienced  from  some  of  the  directors  opposed 
to  the  adoption  of  the  locomotive,  was  the  circumstance  that 
caused  him  the  greatest  grief  of  all ;  for  where  he  had  looked  for 
encouragement,  he  found  only  carping  and  opposition.  But  his 
pluck  never  failed  him;  and  now  the  "Rocket"  was  upon  the 
ground — to  prove,  to  use  his  own  words,  "whether  he  was  a 
man  of  his  word  or  not." 

Great  interest  was  felt  at  Liverpool,  as  well  as  throughout  the 
country,  in  the  approaching  competition.  Engineers,  scientific 
men  and  mechanics,  arrived  from  all  quarters  to  witness  the 
novel  display  of  mechanical  ingenuity  on  which  such  great  re- 
sults depended.  The  public  generally  were  no  idle  spectators 
either.  The  populations  of  Liverpool,  Manchester  and  the  adja- 
cent towns  felt  that  the  successful  issue  of  the  experiment  would 
confer  upon  them  individual  benefits  and  local  advantages  almost 


ENTRIES    FOR   THE    PRIZE.  275 

incalculable,  whilst  populations  at  a  distance  waited  for  the  result 
with  almost  equal  interest. 

On  the  day  appointed  for  the  great  competition  of  locomotives 
at  Rainhill,  the  following  engines  were  entered  for  the  prize : 

1.  Messrs.  Braithwaite  and  Erricson's  "Novelty." 

2.  Mr.  Timothy  Hackworth's  "  Sans-pareil." 

3.  Messrs.  Stephenson  and  Booth's  "Rocket." 

4.  Mr.  Burstall's  "Perseverance." 

Another  engine  was  entered  by  Mr.  Brandreth  of  Livei-pool — 
the  "  Cyclopod,"  weighing  three  tons,  worked  by  a  horse  in  a 
frame ;  but  it  could  not  be  admitted  to  the  competition.  The 
above  were  the  only  four  exhibited,  out  of  a  considerable  number 
of  engines  which  had  been  built  in  different  parts  of  the  country 
in  anticipation  of  this  contest,  but  which  could  not  be  satisfactorily 
completed  by  the  day  fixed  for  the  competition. 

The  ground  on  which  the  engines  were  to  be  tried  was  a  level 
piece  of  railroad,  about  two  miles  in  length.  Each  engine  was 
to  make  twenty  trips,  or  equal  to  a  journey  of  seventy  miles,  in 
the  course  of  the  day ;  and  the  average  rate  of  traveling  was  to 
be  not  under  ten  miles  an  hour.  It  was  determined  that,  to 
avoid  confusion,  each  engine  should  be  tried  separately,  and  on 
different  days. 

The  day  fixed  for  the  competition  was  the  1st  of  October;  but 
to  allow  the  engines  sufficient  time  to  get  into  good  working  order, 
the  directors  extended  it  to  the  6th.  The  judges  were  Mr.  Nicho- 
las "Wood,  Mr.  Rastrick  and  Mr.  Kennedy.  On  the  morning  of 
the  6th,  the  ground  at  Rainhill  presented  a  lively  appearance, 
and  there  was  as  much  excitement  as  if  the  St.  Leger  were  about 
to  be  run.  Many  thousand  spectatoi-s  looked  on,  amongst  whom 
were  some  of  the  first  engineers  of  the  day.  A  stand  was  pro- 
vided for  the  ladies;  and  the  "beauty  and  fashion"  of  the  neigh- 
borhood were  present,  whilst  the  sides  of  the  road  were  lined 
witli  carriages  of  all  descriptions. 

It  was  quite  characteristic  of  ]\Ii'.  Stephenson,  that,  although 


276  LIFE   OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

his  engine  did  not  stand  first  on  the  list  for  trial,  it  was  the  fiist 
that  was  ready ;  and  it  was  according] j  ordered  out  by  the 
judges  for  an  experimental  trip.  The  distance  which  it  ran  on 
that  day  was  about  twelve  miles,  performed  in  about  fifty-three 
minutes. 

The  "Novelty"  was  next  called  out.  It  was  a  light  engine, 
very  compact  in  appearance,  carrying  the  water  and  fuel  upon 
the  same  wheels  as  the  engine.  The  weight  of  the  whole  was 
only  three  tons  and  one  hundred  weight.  A  peculiarity  of  this 
engine  was,  that  the  air  was  driven  or  forced  through  the  fire 
by  means  of  bellows — an  adoption  of  Trevethick's  idea.  The 
day  being  now  far  advanced,  and  some  dispute  having  arisen  as 
to  the  method  of  assigning  the  proper  load  for  the  "Novelty,"  no 
particular  experiment  was  made,  further  than  that  the  engine 
traversed  the  line  by  way  of  exhibition,  occasionally  moving  at 
the  rate  of  twenty-four  miles  an  hour. 

The  "  Sans-pareil,"  constructed  by  Mr.  Timothy  Hackworth, 
was  next  exhibited ;  but  no  particular  experiment  was  made 
with  it  on  this  day.  This  engine  differed  but  little  in  its  con- 
struction, from  the  locomotives  last  supplied  by  Mr.  Stephenson 
to  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway,  of  which  Mr.  Hack- 
worth  was  the  locomotive  foreman.  It  had  the  double  tube  con- 
taining the  fire,  passing  along  the  inside  of  the  boiler  and  return- 
ing back  to  the  same  end  at  which  it  entered.  It  had  also  the 
steam-blast  in  the  chimney ;  but,  as  the  contraction  of  the  orifice 
by  which  the  steam  was  thrown  into  the  chimney  for  the  purpose 
of  intensifying  the  di"aught,  was  a  favorite  idea  of  Mr.  Hack- 
worth,  he  had  sharpened  the  blast  of  his  engine  in  a  remarkable 
degree.     This  was  the  only  novel  feature  in  the  "  Sans-pareil." 

The  contest  was  postponed  until  the  following  day ;  but  before 
the  judges  arrived  on  the  ground,  the  bellows  for  creating  the 
blast  in  the  "Novelty"  gave  way,  and  it  was  found  incapable  of 
going  through  its  performance.  A  defect  was  also  detected  in 
the  boiler  of  the  "Sans-pareil : "  and  IMr.  Hackwoi-th  was  allowed 


THE   TRIAL   AT   RAINHILL.  277 

some  further  time  to  get  it  repaired.  The  large  number  of  spec- 
tators who  had  assembled  to  witness  the  contest  were  greatly  dis- 
appointed at  this  postponement ;  but,  to  lessen  it,  Mr.  Stephenson 
again  brought  out  the  "Rocket,"  and,  attaching  to  it  a  coach  con- 
taining thirty  persons,  he  ran  them  along  the  line  at  the  rate  of 
from  twenty-four  to  thirty  miles  an  hour,  much  to  their  gratifica- 
tion and  amazement.  Before  separating,  the  judges  ordered  the 
"Rocket"  to  be  in  readiness  by  eight  o'clock  on  the  following 
morning,  to  go  through  its  definitive  trial  according  to  the  pre- 
scribed conditions. 

On  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  October,  the  "  Rocket "  was  again 
ready  for  the  contest.  The  engine  was  taken  to  the  extremity 
of  the  stage,  the  fire-box  was  filled  with  coke,  the  fire  lighted, 
and  the  steam  raised  until  it  lifted  the  safety-valve  loaded  to  a 
pressure  of  fifty  pounds  to  the  square  inch.  This  proceeding  oc- 
cupied fifty-seven  minutes.  The  engine  then  started  on  its  jour- 
ney, dragging  after  it  about  thirteen  tons  weight  in  wagons,  and 
made  the  first  ten  trips  backwards  and  forwards  along  the  two 
miles  of  road,  running  the  thirty-five  miles,  including  stoppages, 
in  an  hour  and  forty-eight  minutes.  The  second  ten  trips  were 
in  like  manner  performed  in  two  hours  and  three  minutes.  The 
maximum  velocity  attained  by  the  "Rocket"  during  the  trial 
trip  was  twenty-nine  miles  an  hour,  or  about  tliree  times  the 
speed  that  one  of  the  judges  of  the  competition  had  declared  to 
be  the  limit  of  possibility.  The  average  speed  at  which  the 
whole  of  the  journeys  were  performed  was  fifteen  miles  an  hour, 
or  five  miles  beyond  the  rate  specified  in  the  conditions  published 
by  the  Company.  The  entire  performance  excited  the  greatest 
astonishment  amongst  the  assembled  spectators ;  the  directors 
felt  confident  that  their  enterprise  was  now  on  the  eve  of  success  ; 
and  George  Stephenson  rejoiced  to  think  that,  in  spite  of  all  false 
prophets  and  fickle  counselors,  his  locomotive  system  was  now 
safe.  "When  the  "Rocket,"  having  performed  all  the  conditions 
of  the  contest,  arrived  at  the  close  of  its  day's  successful  run,  Mr. 


278  LIFE   OF    GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

Cropper — one  of  the  directors  favorable  to  the  fixed-engine  sys- 
tem— lifted  up  his  hands,  and  exclaimed,  "Now  has  George 
Stephenson  at  last  delivered  himself!" 

Neither  the  "Novelty"  nor  the  "  Sans-pareil"  were  ready  for 
trial  until  the  10th,  on  the  morning  of  Avhich  day  an  advertise- 
ment appeared,  stating  that  the  former  engine  was  to  be  tried  on 
that  day,  when  it  would  perform  more  work  than  any  engine  upon 
the  ground.  The  weight  of  the  carriages  attached  to  it  was  only 
about  seven  tons.  The  engine  passed  the  first  post  in  good  style ; 
but  in  returning,  the  pipe  from  the  forcing-pump  burst,  and  put 
an  end  to  the  trial.  The  pipe  was  afterwards  repaired,  and  the 
engine  made  several  trips  by  itself,  in  which  it  was  said  to  have 
gone  at  the  rate  of  from  twenty-four  to  twenty-eight  miles  an 
hour. 

The  "  Sans-pareil"  was  not  ready  until  the  13th ;  and  when  its 
boiler  and  tender  were  filled  with  water,  it  was  found  to  weigh 
four  hundred  weight  beyond  the  weight  specified  in  the  published 
conditions  as  the  limit  of  four-wheeled  engines ;  nevertheless,  the 
judges  allowed  it  to  run  on  the  same  footing  as  the  other  engines, 
to  enable  them  to  ascertain  whether  its  merits  entitled  it  to  favor- 
able consideration.  It  traveled  at  the  average  speed  of  about 
fourteen  miles  an  hour,  with  its  load  attached ;  but  at  the  eighth 
trip  the  cold-water  pump  got  wrong,  and  the  engine  could  proceed 
no  further. 

It  was  determined  to  award  the  premium  to  the  successful 
engine  on  the  following  day,  the  14th,  on  which  occasion  there 
was  an  unusual  assemblage  of  spectators.  The  owners  of  the 
"Novelty"  pleaded  for  another  trial;  and  it  was  conceded.  But 
again  it  broke  down.  Then  Mr.  Ilackworth  requested  the  op- 
portunity for  making  another  trial  of  his  "  Sans-pareil."  But 
the  judges  had  now  had  enough  of  failures ;  and  they  declined, 
on  the  ground  that  not  only  was  the  engine  above  the  stipulated 
weight,  but  that  it  was  constructed  on  a  plan  which  they  could 
not  recommend  for  adoption   by  the  directors  of  the  Company. 


THE    SUCCESS    OF    THE    ''  ROCKET."  279 

One  of  the  principal  practical  objections  to  this  locc motive  was 
the  enormous  quantity  of  coke  consumed  or  wasted  by  it — about 
692  lbs.  per  hour  when  traveling — caused  by  the  sharpness  of 
the  steam-blast  in  the  chimney,*  which  blew  a  large  proportion 
of  the  burning  coke  into  the  air. 

The  "  Perseverance,"  of  Mr.  Burstall,  was  found  unable  to 
move  at  more  than  five  or  six  miles  an  hour ;  and  it  was  with- 
drawn at  an  early  period  from  the  contest.  The  "  Rocket"  was 
thus  the  only  engine  that  had  performed,  and  more  than  perform- 
ed, all  the  stipulated  conditions  ;  and  it  was  declared  to  be  fully 
entitled  to  the  prize  of  500/.,  which  was  awarded  to  its  makers 
accoi-dingly.  And  further  to  show  that  the  engine  had  been 
working  quite  within  its  powers,  Mr.  Stephenson  ordered  it  to  be 
brought  upon  the  ground  and  detached  from  all  incumbrances, 
when,  in  making  two  trips,  it  was  found  to  travel  at  the  astonish- 
ing rate  of  thirty-five  miles  an  hour. 

The  "  Rocket"  had  thus  eclipsed  the  performances  of  all  loco- 
motive engines  that  had  yet  been  constructed,  and  outstripped 
even  the  sanguine  anticipations  of  its  constructors.  Above  all,  it 
effectually  answered  the  report  of  Messrs.  Walker  and  Rastrick, 
and  established  the  superiority  of  the  locomotive  for  the  working 
of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway,  and  indeed  all  future 
railways.  The  success  of  the  experiment,  as  judged  by  the 
public,  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  shares  of  the  Com- 
pany immediately  rose   ten   per  cent.,  and  nothing  fuilher  was 

*  The  importance  of  the  contraction  of  the  blast-pipe  at  the  point  of  its  opening  into 
the  chimney,  was  greatly  OTerrated  by  Mr.  Ilackworth.  The  contraction  of  the  pipe,  in 
many  of  the  best  locomotives,  is  quite  unnecessary,  and  indeed  rather  disadvantageous 
than  otherwise ;  for,  since  the  speed  of  the  engines  has  been  increased,  the  velocity  of 
the  eduction  steam  is  quite  sufiBcient  to  produce  the  needful  rarefaction  in  the  chimney, 
without  any  contraction  whatever.  In  the  early  locomotives,  when  the  .speed  of  the 
piston  was  slow,  the  contraction  was  undoubtedly  advantageous  ;  but  now  that  the  boU- 
crs  have  been  increased  in  size,  and  the  heating  surface  thereby  greatly  extended,  a  con- 
siderably less  intense  blast  is  required.  The  orifices  of  the  blast-pipes  in  many  engines 
running  at  the  present  day  are  as  large  as  the  steam-ports  ;  consequently  they  cannot  be 
said  to  be  contracted  at  all.  In  fact,  the  greater  apparent  efficiency  of  the  steam.blast, 
as  at  present  used,  is  entirely  owing  to  the  greater  velocity  of  the  piston. 


280  LIFE   or    GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

heard  of  the  proposed  twenty-one  fixed  engines,  engine-houses, 
ropes,  etc-  All  this  cumbersome  apparatus  had  been  effectually 
disposed  of  by  the  success  of  the  "  Rocket"  at  Rainhill. 

Very  different  now  was  the  tone  of  those  directors  who  had 
distinguished  themselves  by  the  persistency  of  their  opposition  to 
Mr.  Stephenson's  plans.  Coolness  gave  way  to  eulogy,  and  hos- 
tility to  unbounded  offers  of  friendship.  Deeply  though  he  had 
felt  aggrieved  by  the  conduct  pursued  towards  him  during  this 
eventful  struggle,  by  some  from  whom  forbearance  was  to  have 
been  expected,  Mr.  Stephenson  never  entertained  towards  them 
in  after  life  any  angry  feelings ;  on  the  contrary,  he  forgave  all. 
But  though  the  directors  afterwards  passed  unanimous  resolutions 
eulogizing  "the  great  skill  and  unwearied  energy"  of  their 
engineer,  he  himself,  when  speaking  confidentially  to  those  with 
whom  he  was  most  intimate,  could  not  help  distinguishing  between 
his  "  foul-weather  and  fair-weather  friends." 

The  inamense  consequences  involved  in  the  success  of  the 
"  Rocket,"  and  the  important  influence  the  above  contest,  in  which 
it  came  off  the  victor,  exercised  upon  the  future  development  of 
the  railway  system,  might  have  led  one  to  suppose  that  the  direc- 
tors of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway  would  have 
regarded  the  engine  with  pride  and  cherished  it  with  care,  as 
warriors  prize  a  trusty  weapon  which  has  borne  them  victoi'iously 
through  some  grand  historical  battle.  The  French  preserve  with 
the  greatest  care  the  locomotive  constructed  by  Cugnot,  which  is 
to  this  day  to  be  seen  in  the  Conservatoire  des  Arts  et  Metiers, 
at  Paris.  But  the  "  Rocket"  was  an  engine  of  much  greater 
historical  interest.  And  what  became  of  the  "Rocket?"  The 
directors  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Company  sold  it  in 
1837  !  Heavier  engines  were  brought  upon  the  road ;  and  the 
old  "  Rocket"  was  regarded  as  a  thing  of  no  value.  It  was  pur- 
chased by  Mr.  Thompson,  of  Kirkhouse,  the  lessee  of  the  Earl 
of  Carlisle's  coal  and  lime  works  near  Carlisle.  He  worked  the 
engine  on  the  Midgeholme  Railway  for  five  or  six  years,  during 


WHAT    BECAME    OF   THE   "ROCKET."  281 

which  it  hauled  coals  from  the  pits  to  the  town.  There  was 
wonderful  vitality  in  the  old  engine,  as  the  following  circumstance 
proves.  When  the  great  contest  for  the  representation  of  East 
Cumberland  took  place,  and  Sir  James  Graham  was  superseded 
by  Major  Aglionby,  the  "Rocket"  was  employed  to  convey  the 
Alston  express  with  the  state  of  the  poll  from  Midgeholme  to 
Kirkhouse.  On  that  occasion  the  engine  was  driven  by  Mr. 
Mark  Thompson,  and  it  ran  the  distance  of  upwards  of  four  miles 
in  four  and  a  half  minutes,  thus  reaching  a  speed  of  nearly  sixty 
miles  an  hour — proving  its  still  admirable  qualities  as  an  engine. 
But  again  it  was  superseded  by  heavier  engines ;  for  it  only 
weighed  about  four  tons,  whereas  the  new  engines  were  at  least 
three  times  the  weight.  The  "  Rocket"  was  consequently  laid 
up  in  ordinary  in  the  yard  at  Kirkhouse.  It  was  afterwards 
purchased  by  Mr.  Stephenson,  and  is  now  preserved  in  the  works 
at  Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

4 

THE  OPENING  OF  THE  LIVERPOOL  AND  MANCHESTER  RAILWAY. 

The  directors  of  the  Railway  now  began  to  see  daylight. 
Doubts  were  being  cleared  up,  and  largely-debated  questions  one 
by  one  set  at  rest.  A  solid  road  had  been  formed  over  Chat 
Moss;  and  one  "impossibility"  had  been  accomplished.  A  loco- 
motive had  been  constructed  that  could  run  at  thirty  miles  an 
hour;  and  thus  a  second  "impossibility"  had  been  achieved. 
Difficulties,  which  at  first  appeared  insurmountable,  were  being 
borne  down  by  sheer  determination,  assisted  by  skill  afid  labor. 

The  engineer  brought  the  powers  of  the  locomotive  to  bear  in 
accelerating  the  progress  of  the  works.  Now,  it  is  a  common 
thing  to  employ  such  an  agency  in  leading  stuff  to  form  the  em- 
bankments of  a  railway ;  but  then,  it  was  an  unheard-of  expedi- 
ent. After  the  competition  at  Rainhill,  the  "  Rocket"  engine 
was  set  to  work  on  Chat  Moss,  to  drag  the  gravel  for  finishing 
the  permanent  way — at  the  same  time  economizing  horse  labor, 
consolidating  the  road,  and  advancing  the  works  towards  com- 
pletion. 

About  the  middle  of  1829  the  tunnel  at  Liverpool  was  finished  ; 
and  being  lit  up  with  gas,  it  was  publicly  exhibited  one  day  in 
each  week.  Many  thousand  persons  visited  the  tunnel,  at  the 
charge  of  a  shilling  a  head — the  fund  thus  raised  being  appropri- 
ated partly  to  the  support  of  the  families  of  laborers  who  had 
been  injured  upon  the  line,  and  partly  in  contributions  to  the 

(282) 


OPENING    OF   THE    L,   &  M.   RAILWAY.  283 

Manchester  and  Liverpool  infirmaries.  Notwithstanding  the 
immense  quantity  of  rain  that  fell  during  the  year,  great  progress 
had  been  made  ;  and  there  seemed  every  probability  that  one  line 
of  road  would  be  laid  complete  between  the  two  towns  by  the  1st 
of  January,  1830. 

As  promised  by  the  engineer,  a  single  line  was  ready  by  that 
day ;  and  the  "  Rocket,"  with  a  carriage  full  of  directors,  engi- 
neers, and  their  friends,  passed  over  the  entire  length  of  Chat 
Moss,  and  also  along  the  greater  part  of  the  road  between  Liver- 
pool and  INIanchester.  The  coal  traffic  had  already  been  com- 
menced at  different  parts  of  the  railway  ;  but  the  passenger  traffic 
was  delayed  until  locomotives  and  carrying  stock  could  be  con- 
structed, which  involved  a  considerable  additional  expenditure. 
In  consequence  of  the  wetness  of  the  season,  the  completion  of 
the  works  was  somewhat  postponed ;  but  in  the  meantime  Mr. 
Stephenson  and  his  son  were  engaged  in  improving  and  perfecting 
the  locomotive,  and  in  devising  new  arrangements  in  those  which 
were  in  course  of  construction  in  their  workshops  at  Newcastle 
for  the  purposes  of  the  railway.  It  was  soon  found  that  the  per- 
formances of  the  "  Rocket"  on  the  day  of  competition  were  greatly 
within  the  scope  of  her  powers ;  and  at  every  succeeding  effort 
she  excelled  her  previous  feats.  Thus,  in  June,  1830,  a  trial  trip 
was  made  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester  and  back,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  board  meeting  being  held  at  the  latter  town.  A 
great  concourse  of  people  assembled  at  both  termini,  and  along 
the  line,  to  witness  the  spectacle.  The  train  consisted  of  two 
carriages,  filled  with  about  forty  persons,  and  seven  wagons  laden 
with  stores — in  all  about  thirty-nine  tons.  The  "  Rocket,"  light 
though  it  was  as  compared  with  modern  engines,  drew  the  train 
from  Liverpool  to  Manchester  in  two  hours  and  one  minute,  and 
performed  the  return  journey  in  an  hour  and  a  half.  The  speed 
of  the  train  over  Chat  Moss  was  at  the  rate  of  about  twenty-seven 
miles  an  hour. 

The  public  opening  of  the  railway  took  place  on  the  15th  of 


284  LIFE  OF    GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

September,  1830.     Eight  locomotive  engines  had  now  been  con- 
structed by  the  Messrs.  Stephenson,  and  placed  upon  the  line. 
The  whole  of  them  had  been  repeatedly  tried,  and  with  success, 
weeks  before.     A  high  paling  had  been  erected  for  miles  along 
the  deep  cuttings  near  Liverpool,  to  keep  off  the  pressure  of  the 
multitude,  and  prevent  them  from  falling  over  in  their  eagerness 
to  witness  the  opening  ceremony.     Constables  and  soldiers  were 
there  in  numbers,  to  assist  in  keeping  the  railway  clear.     The 
completion  of  the  work  was  justly  regarded  as  a  great  national 
event,  and  was  celebrated  accordingly.    The  Duke  of  Wellington, 
then   prime   minister.  Sir  Robert  Peel,  secretary  of  state,  Mr. 
Huskisson,  one  of  the  members  for  Liverpool,  and   an  earnest 
supporter  of  the   project  from  its  commencement,  were  present, 
together  with  a  large  number  of  distinguished  personages.     The 
"  Northumbrian"  engine  took  the  lead  of  the  procession,  and  was 
followed  by  the  other  locomotives  and  their  trains,  which  accom- 
modated  about    600    persons.*     Many  thousands  of  t^pectatoi-s 
cheered  them  on  their  way — through  the  deep  ravine  of  Olive 
Mount ;  up  the  Sutton  incUne  ;  over  the  Sankey  viaduct,  beneath 
which  a  multitude  of  persons  had   assembled— carriages  filling 
the  narrow  lanes,  and  barges  crowding  the  river.     The  people 
sazed  with  wonder  and  admiration  at  the  trains  which  sped  along 
the  line,  far  above  their  heads,  at  the  rate  of  twenty-four  miles 
an  hour. 

At  Parkside,  seventeen  miles  from  Liverpool,  the  engines 
stopped  to  take  in  water.  Here  a  deplorable  accident  occurred 
to  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the  illustrious  visitors  present, 
which  threw  a  deep  shadow  over  the  subsequent  proceedings  of 
the  day.     The  "  Northumbrian  "  engine,  with  the  carriage  con- 

*  The  engines  with  which  the  line  was  opened  on  the  15th  of  September,  were  the  fol- 
lowing: 1.  The  " Northumbrian."  driven  by  George  Stephenson;  2.  The  " Phoenix," 
by  Robert  Stephenson ;  3.  The  "  North  Star,"  by  Robert  Stephenson,  senior  (brother  of 
George);  4.  The  '' Rocket,"  by  Joseph  Locke;  5.  The  "Dart,"  by  Thomas  L.  Gooch; 
6.  The  "  Comet,"  by  William  AUcard ;  7.  The  "Arrow,"  by  Frederick  Swan«-ick ;  8.  The 
"  Meteor,"  by  Anthony  Harding 


ACCIDENT    TO    MR.    HUSKISSON.  285 

taining  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  was  drawn  up  on  one  line,  in 
order  that  the  whole  of  the  trains  might  pass  in  review  before 
him  and  liis  party  on  the  other.  Mr.  Huskisson  had,  unhappily, 
alighted  from  the  carriage,  and  was  landing  on  the  opposite  road, 
along  which  the  "  Rocket "  engine  was  observed  rapidly  coming 
up.  At  this  moment,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  between  whom 
and  Mr.  Huskisson  some  coolness  had  existed,  made  a  sign  of 
recognition,  and  held  out  his  hand.  A  hurried  but  friendly  grasp 
was  given ;  and  before  it  was  loosened,  thei'e  was  a  general  cry 
from  the  bystanders  of  "  Get  in,  get  in  !  "  Flurried  and  confus- 
ed, Mr.  Huskisson  endeavored  to  get  round  the  open  door  of  the 
carriage,  which  projected  over  the  opposite  rail ;  but  in  so  doing 
he  was  struck  down  by  the  "  Rocket,"  and  falling  with  his  leg 
doubled  across  the  rail,  the  limb  was  instantly  crushed.  His  first 
words,  on  being  raised,  Avere,  "  I  have  met  my  death,"  which,  un- 
happily, proved  too  true,  for  he  expired  that  same  evening  in  the 
neighboring  parsonage  of  Eccles.  It  was  cited  at  the  time  as  a 
remarkable  fact,  that  the  "  Northumbrian  "  engine  conveyed  the 
wounded  body  of  the  unfortunate  gentleman  a  distance  of  about 
fifteen  miles  in  twenty-five  minutes,  or  at  the  rate  of  thirty-six 
miles  an  hour.  This  uacredible  speed  burst  upon  the  world  with 
the  effect  of  a  new  and  unlooked  for  phenomenon. 

The  lamentable  accident  threw  a  gloom  over  the  rest  of  the 
day's  proceedings.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  and  Sir  Robert 
Peel  expressed  a  wish  that  the  procession  should  return  to  Liv- 
erpool. It  was,  however,  represented  to  them  that  a  vast  con- 
course of  people  had  assembled  at  Manchester  to  witness  the 
arrival  of  the  trains  ;  that  report  would  exaggerate  the  mischief 
if  they  did  not  complete  the  journey ;  and  that  a  false  panic  on 
that  day  might  seriously  affect  future  railway  travehng,  and  the 
value  of  the  company's  property.  The  party  consented  accord- 
ingly to  proceed  to  Manchester,  but  on  the  understanding  that 
they  should  return  as  soon  as  possible,  and  refrain  from  further 
foetivity. 


2S6  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

The  opening  of  the  line  was,  however,  accomplished ;  and  the 
eloquent  tribute  afterwards  paid  by  Lord  Brougham  to  the  skill 
and  energy  of  its  constructors,  so  strikingly  represents  the  actual 
feeling  and  opinion  of  the  time,  that  we  cannot  refrain  from  here 
quoting  his  words :  "  When  I  saw,"  said  he,  "  the  difficulties  of 
space,  as  it  were,  overcome ;  when  I  beheld  a  kind  of  miracle 
exhibited  before  my  astonished  eyes ;  when  I  surveyed  masses 
pierced  through  on  which  it  was  before  hardly  possible  for  man 
or  beast  to  plant  the  sole  of  the  foot,  now  covered  with  a  road, 
and  bearing  heavy  wagons,  laden  not  only  with  innumerable 
passengers,  but  with  merchandise  of  the  largest  bulk  and  heaviest 
weight ;  when  I  saw  valleys  made  practicable  by  the  bridges  of 
ample  height  and  length  which  spanned  them ;  saw  the  steam 
railway  traversing  the  water  at  a  distance  of  sixty  or  seventy 
feet  perpendicular  height ;  saw  the  rocks  excavated,  and  the 
gigantic  power  of  man  penetrating  through  miles  of  the  solid 
mass,  and  gaining  a  great,  a  lasting,  an  almost  perennial  conquest 
over  the  powers  of  nature  by  his  skill  and  industiy ;  when  I 
contemplated  all  this,  was  it  possible  for  me  to  avoid  the  reflec- 
tions which  crowded  into  my  mind — not  in  praise  of  man's  great 
success ;  not  in  admiration  of  the  genius  and  perseverance  he 
had  displayed,  or  even  of  the  courage  he  had  shown  in  setting 
himself  against  the  obstacles  that  matter  offered  to  his  course  — 
no !  but  the  melancholy  reflection  that  these  prodigious  efforts  of 
the  human  race — so  fruitful  of  praise,  but  so  much  more  fruitful 
of  lasting  blessings  to  mankind — have  forced  a  tear  from  my  eye 
by  that  unhappy  casualty  which  deprived  me  of  a  friend  and  you 
of  a  representative  ?  " 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  that  we  should  here  speak  of  the  com- 
mercial results  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway.  Suf- 
fice it  to  say  that  its  success  was  complete  and  decisive.  The 
anticipations  of  its  projectors  were,  however,  in  many  respects  at 
fault.  They  had  based  their  calculations  almost  entirely  on  the 
heavy  merchandise  traffic  —  such  as  coal,  cotton,  and  timber  — 


COMMERCIAL   RESULTS.  287 

relying  little  upon  passengers  ;  whereas  the  receipts  derived  frona 
the  conveyance  of  passengers  far  exceeded  those  derived  from 
merchandise  of*  all  kinds,  which,  for  a  time,  continued  a  subor- 
dinate branch  of  the  tratfic.  In  the  evidence  given  before  the 
Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  the  promoters  stated  their 
expectation  of  obtaining  about  one-half  of  the  whole  number  of 
passengers  that  the  coaches  then  running  could  take,  which  was 
from  400  to  500  a  day.  But  the  railway  was  scarcely  opened 
before  it  carried,  on  an  average,  about  1200  passengers  a  day; 
and  five  years  after  the  opening,  it  carried  nearly  half  a  million 
of  persons  yearly.* 

It  was  anticipated  that  the  speed  at  which  the  locomotive  could 
run  upon  the  line,  would  be  about  nine  or  ten  miles  an  hour ;  but 
the  wisest  of  the  lawyers,  and  the  most  experienced  of  the  civil 
engineers,  did  not  believe  this  to  be  practicable,  and  they  laughed 
outright  at  the  idea  of  an  engine  running  twenty  miles  in  the 
hour.  But  very  soon  after  the  railway  was  opened  for  traffic, 
passengers  were  regularly  carried  the  entire  thirty  miles  between 
Liverpool  and  Manchester  in  little  more  than  an  hour.  Two 
Edinburgh  engineers,  who  went  to  report  upon  the  railway,  ex- 
pressed their  wonder  at  the  traveling  being  smoother  and  easier 
than  any  they  had  hitherto  experienced,  even  on  the  smoothest 
turnpikes  of  Mr.  Macadam.  At  the  highest  speed,  of  twenty-five 
miles  an  hour,  they  said,  "  we  could  observe  the  passengers, 
among  whom  were  a  good  many  ladies,  talking  to  gentlemen  with 
the  utmost  sang  froid"\  Such  things  were  considered  wonder- 
ful, then.  It  was  regai-ded  as  quite  extraordinary  that  men 
should  be  enabled,  by  this  remarkable  invention,  to  proceed  to 
Manchester  in  the  morning,  do  a  day's  business  there,  and  return 
to  Liverpool  the  same  night.    So  successful,  indeed,  was  the  pas- 

*  In  the  first  eighteen  months,  upwaris  of  700,000  persons,  or  about  1270  a  day,  were 
conveyed  on  the  line  without  an  accident.  Formerly,  the  transit  by  coach  had  occupied 
four  hours.  The  railway  passenger  trains  performed  the  journey  in  an  hour  and  a  half 
on  the  average. 

,r>m  Grainger  and  Buchanan,  in  the  Scotsman  newspaper 


288  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

senger  traffic,  that  it  engrossed  the  whole  of  the  Company's  small 
stock  engines. 

Although  the  bulk  of  the  heavy  goods  continued  to  go  by  the 
canal,  yet  the  opening  of  the  railway  immediately  caused  a  large 
reduction  in  the  price  of  coals,  and  in  the  rates  for  the  carriage 
of  merchandise.  The  annual  saving  to  the  public  in  money,  not 
to  speak  of  the  gi-eat  saving  of  its  equivalent — time — was  about 
250,000/.  a  year.  The  net  profit  had  been  estimated  by  the  pro- 
jectors at  G  2,5  00/.  a  year,  whereas  the  net  profit  actually  realized 
during  the  first  five  years  exceeded  this  by  about  20,000/.  The 
expense  of  executing  the  works  had,  however,  been  exceeded — 
the  estimate  having  been  800,000/.,  and  the  actual  expenditure 
about  1,200,000/. 

One  of  the  curious  results  of  the  opening  of  the  railway  was 
its  effect  on  the  value  of  the  adjoining  land.  Instead  of  the  pop- 
ulation being  frightened  away  by  the  noise,  fii"e  and  smoke  of  the 
locomotives,  as  had  been  predicted,  there  was  a  sudden  demand 
for  land  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  stations,  and  the  price  of 
property  rose  rapidly.  One  witness,  who  was  examined  before 
the  Committee  on  the  bill,  painted  in  very  black  colors  the  hor- 
rors of  the  steam-engine — that  it  would  destroy  the  grass  on  the 
neighboring  estate,  and  ruin  the  owner  by  rendering  the  land 
worthless  for  building  purposes  ;  that  "  no  man  in  his  sober  senses 
would  build  houses  there,  each  to  have  a  level  line  with  locomo- 
tive engines  running  before  them  ; "  *  and  yet  the  land  in  ques- 
tion was  shortly  after  covered  with  villas,  and  its  value  was  enor- 
mously enhanced.  Mr.  Hardman  Earle,  who  had  opposed  the 
line,  afterwards  declared  before  the  Committee  on  the  London  and 
Birmingham  Bill,  that  his  fears  on  account  of  residential  injury 
had  been  entirely  unfounded ;  and  that  the  passing  of  the  loco- 
motives, instead  of  being  regarded  as  a  nuisance,  was  actually 
regarded  as  an  object  of  interest.    The  landlords  who  had  driven 

*  Evidence  of  Sir.  Thomas  Dickenson  before  the  Committee  on  the  Liverpool  and  Man- 
chester Eailway  Bill,  p.  3G3 


LAND  IMPROVED  IN  VALUE.  289 

the  surveyors  from  their  grounds,  and  compelled  the  promoters 
of  the  railway  to  divert  it  from  its  original  route,  were  shortly 
found  complaining  of  the  grievance  of  being  deprived  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  railway  communication ;  *  while  those  who  were  so 
fortunate  as  to  have  had  the  railway  forced  through  their  lands, 
were  observed,  when  letting  their  farms,  to  advertise  that  the 
railway  passed  through  the  estate,  or  near  it ;  and  it  was  found 
that  there  was  a  quicker  competition  for  farms  so  situated,  and 
higher  rents  were  obtained  for  them.  When  the  Railway  Com- 
pany came  again  to  these  land  owners  to  purchase  additional 
land  from  them,  they  had  invariably  to  "  pay  through  the  nose  " 
—  the  improved  value  of  the  land,  in  consequence  of  its  prox- 
imity to  their  own  stations,  being  quoted  against  them.  Even 
the  most  barren  and  unproductive  land  became  of  value.  Chat 
Moss  itself,  which  could  scarcely,  previous  to  the  formation  of  the 
railway,  afford  footing  for  a  strayed  cow,  promised  soon  to  be- 
come covered  with  valuable  farms.  Mr.  Baines,  of  Leeds,  in 
conjunction  with  several  other  spirited  gentlemen,  bought  a  por- 
tion of  the  bog,  near  the  Manchester  end,  laid  down  a  private 
railway  into  it  connected  with  the  main  line,  and  in  the  course  of 
a  few  yeai's,  a  comfortable  farm-stead,  surrounded  with  belts  of 
wood  and  patches  of  arable  land,  stood  smihng  on  the  verge  of 
the  Moss.  Since  that  time,  cultivation  has  extended  into  it  in  all 
directions,  and  especially  along  the  line  of  the  railway. 

*  The  following  CTidence  was  giyen  by  Mr.  Moss,  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Liverpool 
and  Manchester  Railway,  before  the  Committee  on  the  London  and  Birmingham  Bill  in 
1833: 

"  Have  you  found  owners,  on  the  line  between  Liverpool  and  Birmingham,  consent  to 
the  railroad  there,  who,  nevertheless,  opposed  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line?" 
''  Yes,  several ;  among  others,  Lords  Derby  and  Scfton." 

"  Did  Mr.  Ileywood,  of  Manchester,  oppose  the  Manchester  Railroad?  "     "  Yes." 

"  Did  he  afterwards  complain  of  its  not  passing  through  his  lands  ?  "  "  Yes ;  he  com- 
plained very  much  of  it." 

Lords  Derby  and  Sefton,  who,  by  their  opposition,  forced  the  line  from  their  estate.'^ 
and  compelled  Mr.  Stephenson  to  take  it  over  the  worst  part  of  Chat  Moss,  were  after- 
wards found  patronizing  a  second  and  rival  line  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester,  on 
condition  that  the  line  should  paas  through  their  property. 

19 


290  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPUENSON. 

]\Ir.  Stephenson  did  not  rest  satisfied  with  the  success  he  had 
achieved  in  the  construction  of  the  "  Rocket."  He  regai'ded  it 
only  in  the  light  of  a  successful  experiment ;  and  every  succeed- 
ing engine  which  he  placed  upon  the  line  exhibited  some  im- 
provement upon  its  predecessors.  The  engines  were  varied  in 
their  form,  in  their  arrangement,  in  their  weight  and  proportions, 
as  the  experience  of  each  successive  day,  or  week,  or  month  sug- 
gested. No  sooner  were  defects  made  apparent,  than  steps  were 
taken  to  remedy  them ;  and  each  quarter  produced  engines  of 
such  increased  power  and  efficiency,  that  their  predecessors  were 
abandoned ;  not  because  they  were  woi*n  out,  but  because  they 
had  been  outstripped  in  the  rapid  march  of  improvement. 

The  "Planet"  engine  embodied  most  of  the  improvements 
made  by  Mr.  Stephenson  and  his  son  between  the  construction  of 
the  "Rocket"  and  the  opening  of  the  railway  on  the  loth  of 
September.  The  "  Planet "  was  in  the  Mersey,  but  not  landed, 
on  that  day.  This  engine  exhibited  in  one  combination  nearly 
all  the  improvements  which  the  inventors  had  by  this  time  effect- 
ed— the  blast  pipe,  the  tubular  boiler,  the  horizontal  cylinders 
inside  the  smoke-box,  (a  great  impi-ovement  on  the  "  Rocket,") 
and  the  cranked  axle,  together  with  a  fire-box  firmly  fixed  to  the 
boiler.  In  the  "  Rocket "  the  fire-box  was  only  screwed  against 
the  boiler,  allowing  a  considerable  leakage  of  air  which  had  not 
passed  through  the  fire.  The  tubes  and  furnace  of  the  "  Planet " 
gave  a  heating  surface  of  407|^  feet.  The  cylinder  was  11  inches 
in  diameter,  with  a  16  inch  stroke;  the  boiler  was  6s  feet  long, 
by  3  feet  in  diameter ;  the  four  wheels  were  5  and  3  feet  in  di- 
ameter, respectively. 

On  the  4th  of  December,  the  "Planet"  took  the  first  load  of 
merchandise  from  Liverpool  to  Manchester,  consisting  of  18 
wagon-loads  of  cotton,  200  barrels  of  flour,  63  sacks  of  oatmeal, 
and  34  sacks  of  malt.  The  total  load,  exclusive  of  the  engine, 
was  80  tons,  and  it  was  taken  to  Manchester,  in  the  face  of  a 
strong,  adverse  wind,   in   two   hours  and   thirty-nine   minuter, 


IMPROVEMENTS    IN   LOCOMOTIVES.  291 

which  was  considered  an  exceedingly  successful  trip.  Previous 
to  this,  however,  the  speed  of  the  "Planet"  had  been  tested  in 
bringing  up  a  cargo  of  voters  from  Manchester  to  Liverpool,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  contested  election  there,  when  she  perfonned 
the  journey  between  the  two  places  in  sixty  minutes. 

The  next  important  improvement  in  the  locomotive  was  made 
in  the  "  Samson,"  which  was  placed  upon  the  line  about  the  be- 
ginning of  1831.  In  this  engine  the  plan  of  coxipliny  the  fore 
and  hind  wheels  of  the  engine  was  adopted  ;  by  which  means  the 
adhesion  of  the  wheels  on  the  rails  was  more  effectually  secured, 
and  thus  the  hauling  force  of  the  locomotive  was  made  more 
available.  This  mode  of  coupling  the  wheels  was  found  to  be  a 
great  improvement,  and  it  has  since  been  adopted  in  all  engines 
constructed  for  drawing  heavy  loads,  where  power  is  of  greater 
consequence  than  speed.  On  the  25th  of  February,  the  "  Sam- 
son" drew  a  train  of  thirty  wagons,  weighing  151  tons  exclusive 
of  the  weight  of  the  tender,  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester, 
at  the  rate  of  about  twenty  miles  an  hour  on  the  level  parts  of 
the  railway.  In  this  engine  the  blast,  the  tubes  and  furnace 
were  so  contrived,  that  the  consumption  of  coke  was  reduced  to 
only  about  one-third  of  a  pound  per  ton  per  mile. 

The  rapid  progress  thus  made  will  show  that  Mr.  Stephenson's 
inventive  faculties  were  kept  fully  on  the  stretch ;  but  his  labors 
were  amply  repaid  by  the  result.  He  was,  doubtless,  to  some 
extent  stimulated  by  the  number  of  competitors  who  about  the 
same  time  appeared  as  improvers  of  the  locomotive  engine.  Of 
these  the  most  prominent  were  the  Messrs.  Braithwaite  and 
Ericsson,  whose  engine,  the  "Novelty,"  had  excited  such  high 
expectations  at  the  Rainhill  competition.  The  directors  of  the 
railway,  desirous  of  giving  all  parties  a  fair  chance,  ordered  from 
those  makers  two  engines  on  the  same  model ;  but  their  perform- 
ances not  proving  satisfactory,  they  were  finally  withdrawn. 
One  of  them  slipped  off  the  rails  near  the  Sankey  viaduct,  and 
was  nearly  thi'own  over  the  embankment.     Their  chief  defect 


292  LIFE   OF    GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

consisted  in  their  inability  to  keep  up  a  sufficient  supply  of  steam 
for  regular  work ;  the  steam-blast  not  being  adopted  in  the  en- 
gines. Indeed,  the  supei'iority  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  locomotives 
over  all  others  that  had  yet  been  tried,  induced  the  directors  of 
the  railway  to  require  that  the  engines  supplied  to  them  by  other 
builders  should  be  constructed  after  the  same  model.  It  is  now 
an  invariable  practice  with  I'ailway  companies  to  determine  the 
kind  of  locomotive  with  which  they  are  to  be  supplied  by  con- 
tractors ;  but  in  those  days  it  was  positively  made  a  ground  of 
complaint,  against  both  the  company  and  the  engineer,  that  this 
salutary  precaution  was  adopted.  The  Liverpool  directors  had 
given  every  opportunity  for  trials,  from  Dr.  Booth's  "Veloci- 
pede" (which  knocked  itself  to  pieces  on  the  line)  to  the 
"Rocket;"  and  having  ascertained  by  actual  experience  the 
best  kind  of  engine  for  their  purpose,  they  could  not,  amidst  the 
bustle  and  responsibilities  of  a  large  and  increasing  traffic,  allow 
their  railway  to  be  used  as  a  practicing  ground  for  the  host  of 
experimenters  and  inventors  who  were  springing  up  on  all  sides. 
They  therefore  closed  the  line  against  further  trials  of  new  in- 
ventions. 

It  was  afterwards  made  a  ground  of  complaint  against  ]Mr. 
Stephenson  in  an  influential  publication,*  that  he  had  obtained  a 
monopoly  of  the  engines  supplied  to  the  Liverpool  and  Manches- 
ter Railway,  as  well  as  of  the  appointments  of  the  workmen  em- 
ployed on  the  line.  At  the  same  time  the  writer  admitted  the 
rapidity  of  the  improvements  made  in  the  locomotives,  notwith- 
standing the  alleged  monopoly ;  for  he  stated  that  during  the 
year  and  a  half  which  followed  the  opening,  "  the  engines  have 
been  constantly  varied  in  their  weight  and  proportions,  in  their 
magnitude  and  form,  as  the  experience  of  each  successive  month 
has  indicated :  as  defects  became  manifest  they  were  remedied ; 
improvements  suggested  were  adopted ;  and  each  quarter  pro- 
duced engines  of  such  increased  power  and  efficiency,  that  their 

*  Edinburgh  Review  for  October,  1832.    Art.  by  Dr.  Lardner. 


ALLEGED    MONOPOLY.  293 

predecessors  were  abandoned,  not  because  they  were  worn  out, 
but  because  they  had  been  outstripped  in  the  rapid  march  of  im- 
provement." What  more  than  this  could  have  been  done? 
Granting,  for  a  moment,  that  the  alleged  "monopoly"  had  any 
existence  in  point  of  fact — if  it  tended  in  any  way  to  stimulate 
that  rapidity  in  the  improvement  of  the  locomotive,  which  the 
reviewer  so  distinctly  admitted  to  have  been  effected,  its  tempo- 
rary adoption  in  favor  of  the  indefatigable  and  industrious  Ste- 
phensons  would  have  been  amply  justified.  But  the  simple  truth 
was,  that  the  Newcastle  factory  was  at  that  time  the  only  source 
from  which  efficient  engines  could  be  obtained.  The  directors 
were  fully  alive  to  the  importance  of  inducing  competition  in  this 
new  branch  of  manufacture ;  and  they  offered  every  inducement 
to  mechanical  engineers,  with  the  view  of  enlarging  the  sources 
from  which  they  could  draw  their  supplies  of  engines.  And  so 
soon  as  they  could  rely  upon  the  quality  of  the  article  supplied 
to  them  by  other  firms,  they  distributed  their  orders  indiscrimi- 
nately and  impartially. 

Mr.  Thomas  Gray*  also  proclaimed  his  opposition  to  the  Ste- 
phenson "monopoly,"  but  on  another  ground.  The  Stephenson 
rails  wex'e  smooth,  and  consequently  the  engines  were  adapted 
for  traveling  on  them  at  high  speeds ;  whereas  Mr.  Gray  was 
still  an  adherent  of  the  long-exploded  cog-rail  of  Blenkinsop. 
He  urged  that  the  railroad  should  be  gi*eased,  and  cog-rails 
placed  outside  the  smooth  rails — the  propulsive  agency  working 
in  the  former,  while  the  burden  of  the  engine  traveled  on  the 
latter.  "It  will  certainly,"  said  he,  "answer  the  private  views 
of  engineers,  mechanics  and  others  employed  in  manufacturing 
rails,  steam-engines,  etc.,  to  recommend  the  application  of  numer- 
ous engines  and  the  most  costly  machinery."  And  he  added: 
"Had  the  recent  grand  feat,  accomplished  by  the  two  new  pon- 

*  Mechanics'  Magazine,  1831,  vol.  xv,  p.  167.  The  "  Mechanics'  Magazine  "  supported 
the  cog-rail  as  opposed  to  the  smooth  rail,  probably  because  the  smooth  rail  was  adopted 
bj  Stephenson.     See  vol.  xv,  p.  190. 


294  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

derous  engines,  been  performed  by  means  of  cog-rails,  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  assert  that  the  veiy  same  engines  would  have  effected 
Jive  times  more;"  which  assertion  serves  further  to  prove,  that 
the  founding  of  the  modern  railway  system  could  not  have  been 
effected  by  Thomas  Gray. 

The  charge  brought  against  Mr.  Stephenson,  as  engineer  of 
the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway,  of  employing  men  under 
him  to  carry  out  his  instructions,  whom  he  knew,  in  preference 
to  persons  belonging  to  the  parishes  through  which  the  line 
passed,  whom  he  did  not  know,  was  of  a  piece  with  many  other 
charges  gravely  advanced  against  him  at  the  time.  Even  the 
drivers  of  stage-coaches  were  not  then  selected  by  the  proprietors 
because  they  belonged  to  the  respective  parishes  through  which 
the  coaches  ran,  but  because  they  knew  something  of  stage-coach 
driving.  But  in  the  case  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Rail- 
way, it  was  insisted  that  the  local  population  had  the  first  claim 
to  be  employed  ;  *  and  the  engineer  was  strongly  censured  "for 
introducing  into  the  country  a  numerous  body  of  workmen  in 
various  capacities,  strangers  to  the  soil  and  to  the  surrounding 
population,  thus  wresting  from  the  hands  of  those  to  whom  they 
had  naturally  belonged,  all  the  benefits  which  the  enterprise  and 
capital  of  the  district  in  this  case  conferred."  But  the  charge 
was  grossly  exaggerated,  and,  for  the  most  part,  unfounded.  As 
respected  the  working  of  the  engines,  it  was  natural  and  proper 
that  Mr.  Stephenson,  who  was  responsible  for  their  efficiency, 
should  employ  men  to  work  them  who  knew  something  about 
their  construction  and  mode  of  action.  And  as  the  only  locomo- 
tive railways  previously  at  woi-k  in  England  were  those  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Newcastle,  he  of  course  sought  there  for  engine 
drivers,  stokers  and  other  workmen  of  practical  experience  on 
railways,  to  work  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line.  But  it 
was  from  the  first  one  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  greatest  difficulties  to 
find  able  workmen  enough  to  make  his  engines  as  well  as  to  con- 

*  EOiaburgh  Review  for  October,  1832,  p.  130. 


SELECTION    OF   WORKMEN.  295 

Struct  his  roads.  It  was  a  saying  of  his  that  "he  could  engineer 
matter  very  well,  and  make  it  bend  to  his  purpose,  but  his  great- 
est difficulty  was  in  engineering  men."  Of  the  600  persons 
employed  in  the  working  of  the  Liverpool  line,  not  more  than 
sixty  had  been  recommended  by  him  in  his  capacity  of  engineer, 
and  of  these  a  considerable  proportion  were  personally  unknown 
to  him.  Some  of  them,  indeed,  had  been  brought  up  under  his 
own  eye,  and  were  men  whose  character  and  qualifications  he 
could  vouch  for.  But  these  were  not  enough  for  his  purpose ; 
and  he  often  wished  he  could  procure  heads  and  hands  on  which 
he  could  rely,  as  easily  as  he  could  manufacture  locomotives. 
As  it  was,  Stephenson's  engine-men  were  in  request  all  over 
England,  and  they  never  were  in  want  of  remunerative  employ- 
ment. Indeed,  for  many  years  after,  the  Newcastle  school  of 
engineers,  of  which  he  was  the  head,  continued  to  furnish  the 
chief  part  of  the  locomotive  superintendents  and  drivers  on  rail- 
ways, not  only  in  this  country,  but  all  over  Europe ;  preference 
being  given  to  them  by  the  directors  of  these  undertakings,  in 
consequence  of  their  previous  practical  experience,  as  well  as 
their  general  excellent  qualities  as  steady  and  industi-ious  work- 
men. Mr.  Stephenson  had,  no  doubt,  a  warm  heart  for  North- 
umberland men  ;  and  who  will  blame  him  for  it  ?  But  that  he 
ever  permitted  his  love  for  canny  Newcastle  to  bias  his  judgment 
or  stand  in  the  way  of  his  duty  to  his  employers  in  recommend- 
ing the  best  men  for  appointment  to  the  offices  under  him,  those 
who  knew  him  best  most  confidently  deny. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester 
railway,  we  may  briefly  mention  that  Mr.  Stephenson's  ingenuity 
continued  for  some  time  to  be  employed  in  perfecting  the  work- 
ing arrangements  of  the  line.  The  springs  of  the  carriages  were 
improved :  buffisrs  were  contrived  to  prevent  that  hard  bumping 
of  the  carriage  ends,  which  was  felt  to  be  a  very  objectionable 
feature  in  the  first  passenger  trains ;  and  everything  was  done 
that  Avas  calculated  to  diminish  friction  or  jerking,  and  make 


296  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

traveling  comfortable  and  easy.  Amongst  Mr.  Stephenson's  other 
inventions  of  tliis  time  were  his  method  of  lubricating  carriage 
axles,  his  spring  frames  for  the  carriages,  his  buffers  and  his 
railway  breaks. 

Like  the  engine  power  and  the  carriage  arrangements,  the 
road  was  for  some  time  in  an  experimental  state,  and  was  grad- 
ually brought  into  a  condition  of  practical  efficiency.  As  the 
power  and  weight  of  the  locomotives  were  increased,  and  the 
speed  at  which  the  trains  traveled  steadily  advanced,  it  soon  be- 
came clear  to  Mr.  Stephenson  that  a  considerable  modification  in 
the  road  was  absolutely  necessary.  The  fish-bellied  rails,  first 
laid  down,  were  of  the  weight  of  only  thirty-five  pounds  to  the 
yard,  and  calculated  only  for  horse  traffic,  or  at  most  for  engines 
like  the  "  Rocket,"  of  very  light  weight.  In  the  course  of  a  short 
time  it  was  found  necessary  to  have  the  road  relaid  with  stronger 
rails  of  greater  weight  and  improved  form,  though  at  a  very  con- 
siderable expense  to  the  Company.  Mr.  Stephenson  was  de- 
termined, however,  to  the  best  of  his  power,  to  fulfill  his  promise 
to  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  that  he  would  make 
his  railway  as  perfect  as  possible. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

EXTENSION  OF  THE  RAILWAY  SYSTEM  —THE  LONDON  AND  BIRMrNQHAM 

LINE. 

When  Mr.  Stephenson  had  completed  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  Railway,  and  brought  the  locomotive  engine,  by 
means  of  which  it  was  to  be  worked,  into  a  state  of  practical 
efficiency,  he  may  be  said  to  have  accomplished  the  great  work 
of  his  life.  By  persevering  study  and  observation — by  treasuring 
up  carefully  the  results  of  experience,  neglecting  no  fact  or  sugges- 
tion howsoever  insignificant  it  might  at  first  sight  appear — hold- 
ing fast  to  his  purpose,  with  a  conviction  that  was  never  shaken, 
and  a  determination  that  was  never  baffled — he  had  established 
with  but  small  assistance  or  encouragement,  and  in  the  face  ©f 
every  kind  of  difficulty  and  opposition,  the  superiority  of  the 
Locomotive  system  of  railways.  And  it  is  perhaps  not  saying 
too  much  to  aver,  that  in  accomplishing  this,  Mr.  Stephenson  did 
more  to  advance  the  civilization  of  the  world  than  any  single 
individual  of  his  age.  Excepting  only  the  discovery  of  Printing, 
no  other  invention  will  bear  a  comparison  with  that  of  Railway 
Locomotion,  as  affecting  the  destinies  of  mankind.  In  former 
times,  the  builder  of  a  bridge,  and  the  maker  of  a  road,  which 
brought  towns  and  villages  into  communication  with  each  other, 
were  regarded  as  public  benefactors.  But  how  much  greater  a 
benefactor  of  his  species  was  the  man  who  invented  the  Locomo- 
tive Railway  system,  which  unites  nation  with  nation,  and  is  now 
rapidly  drawing  the  ends  of  the  earth  together ! 

(297) 


298  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

It  may  be  humiliating  to  our  schools  of  science  and  learning  to 
confess,  that  the  men  who  brought  the  locomotive  to  perfection — 
George  Stephenson  above  all — were  comparatively  unlettered 
and  uneducated,  possessing  none  of  the  advantages  of  scholastic 
or  scientific  culture.  The  educated  men,  and  even  the  scientific 
engineers,  were  wholly  opposed  to  the  locomotive  system,  declar- 
ing it  to  be  absurd  and  impracticable.  The  general  public,  where 
not  actively  hostile,  were  indifferent.  With  the  performances  of 
the  "  Rocket,"  however,  all  doubts  upon  the  subject  were  in  a 
great  measure  set  at  rest.  What  had  been  ridiculed  as  an  im- 
possibility, was  now  recognized  as  a  fact.  The  "  Rocket"  showed 
that  a  new  power  had  been  born  into  the  world,  full  of  activity 
and  strength,  with  boundless  capability  of  work.  It  was  the 
simple  but  admirable  contrivance  of  the  steam-blast,  and  its 
combination  with  the  multitubular  boiler  with  its  large  heating 
surface,  that  at  once  gave  the  high-pressure  locomotive  its  vigor- 
ous life,  and  secured  the  triumph  of  the  railway  system.  As 
has  been  well  observed,  this  wonderful  ability  to  increase  and 
multiply  its  powers  of  performance  with  the  emergency  that 
demands  them,  has  made  this  giant  engine  the  noblest  creation 
of  human  wit,  the  very  lion  among  machines. 

The  practicability  of  Railway  Locomotion  being  now  proved, 
its  extension  was  merely  a  question  of  time,  money,  and  labor. 
A  fine  opportunity  presented  itself  for  the  wise  and  judicious 
action  of  government  in  the  matter.  The  improvement  of  the 
internal  communications  of  a  country  seems  to  fall  peculiarly 
within  its  province.  The  government  was  indeed  at  this  very 
time  directing  its  attention  to  the  improvement  of  the  old  turn- 
pike roads,  and  voting  large  sums  of  money  to  Mr.  Macadam,  for 
his  so-called  "  discovery." 

But  here  Avas  a  new  system  of  internal  communication  invent- 
ed, which  was  destined  entirely  to  supersede  the  old  macadamized 
roads.  What  was  the  action  of  the  le<;islature  in  regard  to  it  ? 
They  took  no  part  except  to  retard  and  obstruct  it ;   until  at 


NEW    LINES   PROJECTED,  299 

length  their  shiggish  resistance  was  overborne,  and  the  railway 
system  was  established,  by  the  perseverance  of  private  individu- 
als. The  opposition  raised  by  the  governing  classes  to  the 
progress  of  railway  bills  in  Parliament,  would  have  damped  the 
energy  of  any  people  less  resolute  than  the  English.  But  the 
leading  men  of  industry  throughout  the  kingdom  had  grasped 
a  great  idea,  and  would  not  let  it  go.  They  had  the  sagacity  to 
perceive  the  value  of  railways,  though  the  government  had  not ; 
and  when  tlie  legislature  failed  to  enter,  at  this  juncture,  upon 
the  grand  enterprise  of  planning  and  executing  railways  upon 
a  national  system,  there  was  a  sutficient  amount  of  active  public 
spirit  in  the  country  to  undertake  the  work  on  private  risk,  and 
to  carry  it  into  practical  effect  in  the  face  of  every  opposition. 

The  mode  of  action  was  characteristic  and  national.  The 
execution  of  the  new  lines  was  undertaken  entirely  by  joint-stock 
associations  of  proprietors,  after  the  manner  of  the  Stockton  and 
Darlington,  and  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Companies.  These 
associations  are  conformable  to  our  national  habits,  and  fit  well 
into  our  system  of  laws.  They  combine  the  power  of  vast  re- 
sources with  individual  watchfulness  and  motives  of  self-interest ; 
and  by  their  means  gigantic  enterprises,  which  elsewhere  would 
be  impossible  to  any  but  kings  and  emperors  with  great  national 
resources  at  command,  were  carried  out  by  associations  of  private 
persons.  And  the  results  of  this  combination  of  means  and  of 
enterprise  have  been  truly  marvelous.  Within  the  life  of  the 
present  generation,  the  private  citizens  of  England  engaged  in 
railway  enterprises,  have,  in  the  face  of  government  obstructions, 
and  without  taking  a  penny  out  of  the  public  purse,  executed  a 
system  of  railways,  involving  works  of  the  most  gigantic  kind, 
Avhich,  in  their  total  mass,  their  cost,  and  their  eminent  public 
utility,  far  exceed  the  most  famous  national  constructions  of  any 
age  or  country. 

Mr.  Stephenson  was  of  course  actively  engaged  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  numerous  railways  now  projected  by  the  joint- 


300  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

stock  companies.  During  the  formation  of  the  Manchester  and 
Liverpool  line,"  he  had  been  consulted  respecting  many  projects 
of  a  similar  kind.  One  of  these  was  a  short  railway,  between 
Canterbury  and  AVhitstable,  about  six  miles  in  length.  He  was 
too  much  occupied  with  the  works  at  Liverpool  to  give  this 
scheme  much  of  his  personal  attention.  But  he  sent  his  assistant, 
Mr.  John  Dixon,  to  survey  the  line ;  and  afterwards  Mr.  Locke 
to  superintend  the  execution  of  the  principal  works.  The  act 
was  obtained  in  1826,  and  the  line  was  opened  for  traffic  in  1830. 
It  was  partly  worked  by  fixed-engine  power,  and  partly  by 
Stephenson's  locomotives,  similar  to  the  engines  used  upon  the 
Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway. 

But  the  desire  for  railway  extension  principally  pervaded  the 
manufacturing  districts,  especially  after  the  successful  opening  of 
the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line.  The  commercial  classes  of 
the  larger  towns  soon  became  eager  for  a  participation  in  the 
good  which  they  had  so  recently  derided.  Railway  projects  were 
set  on  foot  in  great  numbers,  and  Manchester  became  a  centre 
from  which  main  lines  and  branches  were  started  in  all  directions. 
The  interest,  however,  which  attaches  to  these  later  schemes  is 
of  a  much  less  absorbing  kind  than  that  which  belongs  to  the 
earlier  history  of  the  English  railway,  and  the  steps  by  which 
George  Stephenson  secured  its  eventual  establishment.  We 
naturally  sympatliize  more  with  the  early  struggles  of  a  great 
principle,  its  trials  and  its  difficulties,  than  with  its  after  stages 
of  success  ;  and,  however  gratified  and  astonished  we  may  be  at 
its  permanent  results,  the  secret  charm  of  the  interest  is  gone, 
and  the  excitement  has  ceased,  when  its  ultimate  triumph  has 
become  a  matter  of  certainty. 

The  commercial  results  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line 
were  so  satisfactory,  and  indeed  so  greatly  exceeded  the  expec- 
tations of  its  projectors,  that  many  of  the  abandoned  projects  of 
the  speculative  year  1825  were  forthwith  revived.  An  abundant 
crop  of  engineers  sprang  up,  ready  to  execute  railways  of  any 


NEW   LINES    PROJECTED.  301 

extent.  Now  that  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line  had  been 
made,  and  the  practicability  of  working  it  by  locomotive  power 
had  been  proved,  it  was  as  easy  for  engineers  to  make  railways 
and  to  work  them,  as  it  was  for  navigators  to  find  America  after 
Columbus  had  made  the  first  voyage.  George  Stephenson  had 
shown  the  way,  and  engineers  forthwith  crowded  after  him  full 
of  great  projects.  Mr.  Francis  Giles  himself  took  the  field  as  a 
locomotive  railway  engineer,  attaching  himself  to  the  Newcastle 
and  Carlisle,  and  London  and  Southampton  projects.  Mr.  Brunei 
appeared,  in  like  manner,  as  the  engineer  of  the  line  projected 
between  London  and  Bristol ;  and  Mr.  Braithwaite,  the  builder 
of  the  "  Novelty"  engine,  as  the  engineer  of  a  line  from  London 
to  Colchester. 

The  first  lines,  however,  which  were  actually  constructed, 
subsequent  to  the  opening  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Rail- 
way, were  in  connection  with  it,  and  principally  in  the  county  of 
Lancaster.  Thus  a  branch  was  formed  from  Bolton  to  Leigh, 
and  another  from  Leigh  to  Kenyon,  where  it  formed  a  junction 
with  the  main  line  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester.  Branches 
to  Wigan  on  the  north,  and  to  Runcorn  Gap  and  Warrington  on 
the  south  of  the  same  line,  were  also  formed.  A  continuation  of 
the  latter,  as  far  south  as  Birmingham,  was  shortly  after  project- 
ed under  the  name  of  the  Grand  Junction  Railway.  The  scheme 
of  a  line  from  Birmingham  to  London  was  also  brought  forward 
anew,  and  it  was  thus  contemplated  to  bring  the  populous  districts 
of  Lancashire  and  the  northwestern  counties  into  direct  railway 
communication  with  the  metropolis.  At  the  same  time  an  im- 
portant cross  country  railway  was  projected  from  Manchester  to 
Leeds,  traversing  the  populous  manufacturing  districts  of  East 
Lancashire  and  West  Yorkshire,  and  bringing  the  chief  towns  of 
the  two  great  northern  counties  into  direct  communication  with 
each  other.  Of  the  principal  lines  projected  in  these  districts, 
Mr.  George  Stephenson  was  appointed  engineer ;  in  some  cases, 
in  conjunction  with  his  son.     He  was  the  engineer  of  the  Grand 


302  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

Junction,  of  the  Manchester  and  Leeds,  and  other  new  lines,  so 
that  his  hands  were  full  of  work. 

The  number  of  railway  schemes  which  were  thus  projected 
by  companies  of  private  individuals,  principally  resident  in  the 
manufacturing  districts,  created  considerable  alarm  in  the  minds 
of  the  country  gentlemen,  who  were  found  everywhere  up  in  arms 
against  these  "  new-fongled  roads."  The  farmers  were  thrown 
into  a  state  of  consternation  at  the  idea  of  "fire-horses"  running 
through  their  quiet  fields  and  frightening  their  sheep  and  cattle 
while  grazing.  In  remote  country  places  the  most  extraordinary 
stories  were  propagated  and  believed  respecting  railway  locomo- 
tives. On  one  occasion,  Mr.  Stephenson  and  some  directors  of 
the  line  projected  from  Chester  to  Birmingham,  on  coming  into 
the  neighborhood  of  Nantwich  to  obtain  the  consent  of  some 
land-owners,  were  told  that  the  canal  proprietors  had  been  before 
them,  and  had  told  the  farmers  and  land-owners  that  if  a  bird 
flew  over  the  district  when  the  locomotive  passed,  it  would  drop 
down  dead ! 

The  inhabitants  of  even  some  of  the  large  towns  were  thrown 
into  a  state  of  consternation  by  the  proposal  to  provide  them  with 
the  accommodation  of  a  railway.  The  line  from  London  to  Bir- 
mingham would  naturally  have  passed  close  to  the  handsome 
town  of  Northampton,  and  was  so  projected.  But  the  inhabit- 
ants, urged  on  by  the  local  press,  and  excited  by  men  of  influence 
and  education,  opposed  the  project,  and  succeeded  in  forcing  the 
promoters,  in  their  resurvey  of  the  line,  to  pass  the  town  at  a 
distance.  The  necessity  was  thus  involved  of  distorting  the  line, 
which  incurred  the  enormous  expense  of  constructing  the  Kilsby 
Tunnel.  Not  many  years  elapsed  before  the  very  same  inhabit- 
ants of  Northampton  became  clamorous  for  railway  accommoda- 
tion, and  a  special  branch  was  constructed  for  them.  The 
additional  cost  involved  by  this  forced  deviation  of  the  line  could 
not  have  amounted  to  less  than  half  a  million  sterling ;  a  loss 
falling,  not  upon  the  shareholders  only,  but  also  upon  the  public 


LONDON   AND    BIKMINGHAM    RAILWAY.  303 

at  large,  -^vho  are  the  eventual  sufferers  from  all  railway  waste 
and  extravagance. 

But  the  most  formidable  opponents  of  the  London  and  Bir- 
mingham Railway  were  the  land-owners,  whose  position  in  the 
legislature  gave  them  an  overwhelming  influence  in  determining 
the  direction  of  railways,  and  the  terms  on  which  they  were  to 
be  conceded.  And  as  the  history  of  the  progress  of  the  London 
and  Birmingham  scheme  differs  but  little,  in  the  main,  from  that 
of  similar  projects  of  the  time,  a  brief  statement  of  the  leading 
facts  in  connection  with  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  here. 

Surveys  of  a  line  of  railway  from  London  to  Birmingham  had 
been  made  as  early  as  the  great  speculative  year,  1825,  but  the 
commercial  crash  which  occurred  stopped  its  further  progress. 
It  was,  however,  revived  in  1830,  when  tAvo  committees  were 
formed  at  Birmingham.  One  had  for  their  consulting  engineers 
the  Messrs.  Rennie,  and  the  other  Mr.  Francis  Giles.  The  line 
of  the  former  was  projected  to  pass  by  Oxford  to  London ;  and 
that  of  the  latter  by  way  of  Coventry.  There  was  at  that  early 
date  less  of  the  fighting  spirit  amongst  rival  railway  projectors 
than  unhappily  prevailed  at  a  subsequent  period.  The  promoters 
were  desirous  of  obtaining  a  good  railroad  to  London,  rather  than 
of  carrying  on  a  costly  warfare  for  the  benefit  of  rival  lawyers, 
surveyors,  and  engineers.  So  the  two  committees  wisely  deter- 
mined to  unite,  and  call  to  their  aid  the  matured  experience  and 
judgment  of  Mr.  George  Stephenson,  in  adjudicating  upon  the 
merits  of  the  respective  lines.  After  a  careful  examination  of  the 
country,  Mr.  Stephenson  reported  in  favor  of  the  Coventry  route  ; 
and  the  Lancashire  gentlemen,  having  great  confidence  in  his 
judgment,  supported  his  decision,  on  which  the  line  recommended 
by  him  was  adopted. 

At  the  meeting  of  gentlemen  held  at  Birmingham  to  determine 
upon  the  appointment  of  the  engineer  for  the  railway,  there  was 
a  strong  party  in  favor  of  appointing  as  Mr.  Ste])henson's  associ- 
ate a  gentleman  with  whom  he  had  been  brought  into  serious 


304  LIFE   OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

collision  in  the  course  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  under- 
taking. When  the  offer  was  made  to  him  that  he  should  be  joint 
engineer  with  the  other,  he  requested  leave  to  retire  and  consider 
the  proposal  with  his  son.  The  two  walked  into  St.  Philip's 
churchyard,  which  adjoined  the  place  of  meeting,  and  debated  the 
proposal.  The  father  was  in  favor  of  accepting  it :  his  struggle 
heretofore  had  been  so  hard,  that  he  could  not  bear  the  idea  of 
missing  an  opportunity  of  advancing  himself.  But  the  son,  fore- 
seeing the  jealousies  and  heart-burnings  which  the  joint  engineer- 
ship  would  most  probably  create,  recommended  to  his  father  the 
answer  which  Mr.  Bradshaw  gave,  when  shares  were  offered  to 
the  Duke  of  Bridgewater's  Trustees  in  the  Liverpool  and  Man- 
cliester  line — "  All  or  none  !"  "  Well,  I  believe  you  are  right," 
said  Mr.  Stephenson;  and,  returning  to  the  Committee,  he 
announced  to  them  his  decision.  "  Then  'all'  be  it !"  replied  the 
Chairman ;  and  he  was  at  once  appointed  the  engineer  of  the 
London  and  Birmingham  Railway,  in  conjunction  with  his  son. 

The  line,  as  originally  laid  out,  was  to  have  had  its  London 
terminus  at  Maiden  Lane,  King's  Cross,  the  site  of  the  present 
Great  Northern  Station:  it  passed  through  Cashiobury  and 
Grove  Parks,  the  seats  of  Lord  Essex  and  Lord  Clarendon,  and 
along  the  Hemel  Hempstead  and  Little  Goddesden  valleys,  in 
Hertfordshire.  This  latter  poi-tion  of  the  project  excited  a  vehe- 
ment opposition  on  the  part  of  the  land-owners,  who  formed  a 
powerful  confederacy  against  the  bill.  The  principal  parties  who 
took  an  active  part  in  the  opposition  were  Lady  Bridgewater  and 
her  trustees.  Lord  Essex  and  Sir  Astley  Cooper,  supported  by 
the  Grand  Junction  Canal  Company.  By  their  influence  the 
land-owners  throughout  the  counties  of  Hertford  and  Bucking- 
ham were  completely  organized  in  opposition  to  the  measure. 
The  time  for  preparing  the  plans  to  be  deposited  with  the 
several  clerks  of  the  peace,  as  required  by  the  standing  orders  of 
Parliament,  being  very  limited,  the  necessary  documents  were 
prepared  in  great  haste,  and  were  deposited  in  such  an  imperfect 


OPPOSITION    TO    THE    BILL.  305 

State  as  to  give  just  grounds  for  presuming  that  they  would  not 
pass  the  oi-deal  of  the  Standing  Orders  Committee.  It  was  also 
thought  that  alterations  might  be  made  in  some  parts  of  the 
railway  which  would  remove  the  objections  of  the  principal  land- 
owners, and  it  was  therefore  determined  to  postpone  the  applica- 
tion to  Parliament  until  the  following  session. 

In  the  meantime  the  opponents  of  the  bill  out  of  doors  were 
not  idle.  Public  meetings  were  held  in  most  of  the  districts 
through  wliich  the  line  was  projected  to  pass,  under  the  presi- 
dency of  the  nobility  and  gentry,  when  it  was  unanimously 
determined  that  railways  were  wholly  unnecessary.  Numerous 
pamphlets  were  published,  calling  on  the  public  to  "  beware  of 
the  bubbles,"  and  holding  up  the  promoters  of  railways  to  ridicule. 
They  were  compared  to  Sir  John  Long,  and  similar  quacks,  and 
pronounced  fitter  for  Bedlam  than  to  be  left  at  large.  The  canal 
proprietors,  land-owners,  and  road  trustees,  made  common  cause 
in  decrying  and  opposing  the  projected  line.  The  failure  of  rail- 
ways was  still  confidently  predicted,  notwithstanding  the  success 
of  the  Liverpool  Railway;  and  it  was  industriously  spread  abroad 
that  the  locomotive  engines,  having  proved  a  failure  there,  were 
immediately  to  be  abandoned !  —  a  rumor  which  the  directox's  of 
the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Company  considered  it  necessaiy 
publicly  to  contradict. 

The  feeling  of  opposition  excited  in  the  districts  through  which 
the  line  was  intended  to  pass,  was  so  great  that  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty the  surveys  could  be  made.  At  one  point  the  vigilance  of 
the  land-owners  and  their  servants  was  such,  that  the  surveyors 
were  effectually  prevented  making  the  surveys  by  the  light  of 
day ;  and  it  was  only  at  length  accomplished  at  night  by  means 
of  dark  lanthorns.  Mr.  Lecount  mentions  another  instance  of  a 
clergyman,  who  made  such  alarming  demonstrations  of  his  oppo- 
sition, that  the  extraordinary  expedient  was  resorted  to  of  survey- 
ing his  pi'operty  during  the  time  he  was  engaged  in  the  pulpit. 

This  was  accomplished  by  having  a  strong  force  of  surveyors  in 

20 


306  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

readiness  to  commence  their  operations,  and  entering  the  clergy- 
man's grounds  on  the  one  side  at  the  same  moment  that  they 
saw  him  fairly  off  them  on  the  other ;  by  a  well-organized  and 
systematic  arrangement,  each  man  concluded  his  allotted  task  just 
as  the  reverend  gentleman  concluded  his  sermon ;  so  that,  before 
he  left  the  church,  the  deed  was  done,  and  the  sinners  had  all 
decaraiied.  Similar  opposition  was  offered  at  many  other  points, 
but  ineffectually.  The  perseverance  of  Mr.  R.  Stephenson  (who, 
in  examining  the  country  to  ascertain  the  best  line,  walked  over 
the  whole  intervening  districts  between  London  and  Birmingham 
upwards  of  twenty  times),  and  the  patient  industry  of  his  survey- 
ors, under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Gooch,  overcame  all  obstacles ; 
and  by  the  end  of  1831,  the  requisite  plans  were  deposited  pre- 
paratory to  an  application  being  made  to  Parliament  iu  the 
ensuing  session. 

The  principal  alterations  made  in  the  new  line  were  at  the 
London  end ;  the  terminus  being  changed  from  Maiden  Lane  to 
a  large  piece  of  open  land  adjoining  the  Regent's  Canal  —  the 
site  of  the  present  London  and  Northwestern  Goods  Station ; 
and  also  at  Watford,  where  the  direction  of  the  line  was  altered 
so  as  entirely  to  avoid  the  parks  of  Lords  Essex  and  Clarendon. 
This  diversion,  however,  inflicted  upon  the  public  the  inconven- 
ience of  the  Watford  Tunnel,  about  a  mile  in  length,  and  upon 
the  company  a  largely  increased  outlay  for  its  construction.  The 
Herael  Hempstead  and  Goddesden  vallej^s  were  also  avoided, 
and  the  line  proceeded  by  the  towns  of  Berkhampstead  and  Tring. 
It  was  expected  that  these  alterations  would  have  the  effect  of 
mitigating,  if  not  of  entirely  averting,  the  powerful  opposition  of 
the  land  owners ;  but  it  was  found  that,  on  the  contrary,  it  was 
now  more  violent  than  ever,  although  all  grounds  of  complaint 
in  regard  to  their  parks  and  residences  had  been  entirely  remov- 
ed. The  most  exaggerated  alarms  continued  to  be  entertained, 
especially  by  those  who  had  never  seen  a  railway ;  and,  although 
there  were  a  few  country  gentlemen  who  took  a  different  view  of 


THE    BILL   IN    COMMITTEE.  307 

the  subject,  when  the  bill  for  the  altered  line  was  introduced  into 
Parliament  in  the  session  of  1832,  the  owners  of  nearly  seven- 
eighths  of  the  land  required  for  the  railway  were  returned  as 
dissentients.  It  was,  however,  a  noticeable  fact,  that  Lords  Der- 
by and  Sefton,  who  had  so  vehemently  opposed  the  Liverpool 
Railway  in  all  its  stages,  were  found  amongst  the  assentients  to 
the  London  and  Birmingham  line.  The  scheme  had,  it  is  true, 
many  warm  friends  and  supporters,  but  these  were  principally 
confined  to  classes  possessing  more  intelligence  than  influence. 
Indeed,  the  change  which  was  rapidly  taking  place  in  public 
opinion  on  the  subject  of  railways,  induced  the  promoters  to  an- 
ticipate a  favorable  issue  to  their  application,  notwithstanding  the 
hostility  of  the  land  owners.  They  drew  a  favorable  augury 
from  the  fact  that  the  Grand  Junction  Canal  Company,  although 
still  opposing  the  measure  as  strenuously  as  ever,  so  far  as  the 
influence  of  its  proprietors  collectively  and  individually  extended, 
and  watching  all  the  proceedings  of  the  bill  with  a  jealous  eye, 
did  not  openly  appear  in  the  ranks  of  its  opponents,  and,  what 
was  of  still  greater  significance,  did  not  open  their  purse-strings 
to  supply  funds  for  the  opposition. 

When  the  bill  went  before  the  Committee  of  the  Commons,  a 
formidable  array  of  evidence  was  produced ;  all  the  railway  ex- 
perience of  the  day  was  brought  to  bear  in  support  of  the  meas- 
ure, and  all  that  interested  opposition  could  do  was  set  against  it 
The  necessity  for  an  improved  mode  of  communication  between 
London  and  Birmingham  was  clearly  demonstrated ;  and  the  en- 
gineering evidence  was  regarded  as  quite  satisfactory.  So  strong 
an  impression  was  made  upon  the  Committee,  that  the  result  was 
no  longer  doubtful  so  far  as  the  Commons  were  concerned ;  but 
it  was  considered  very  desirable  that  the  case  should  be  fully 
brought  out  in  evidence  for  the  information  of  the  public,  and  the 
whole  of  the  witnesses  in  support  of  the  bill,  about  a  hundred  in 
number,  were  examined  at  great  length.  The  opponents  confined 
themselves  principally  to  cross-examination,  without  producino- 


808  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPUENSON. 

direct  evidence  of  their  own  ;  reserving  their  main  opposition  for 
the  House  of  Lords,  where  they  knew  that  their  strength  lay. 
Not  a  single  fact  was  proved  against  the  great  utility  of  the  meas- 
ure, and  the  bill  passed  the  Committee,  and  afterwards,  the  third 
reading,  in  the  Commons,  by  large  majorities. 

It  was  then  sent  to  the  House  of  Lords,  and  went  into  Committee, 
when  a  similar  mass  of  testimony  was  again  gone  through  during 
seven  days.  An  overwhelming  case  was  made  out  as  before ; 
though  an  attempt  was  made  to  break  down  the  evidence  of  the 
witnesses  on  cross-examination.  The  feasibility  of  the  route 
was  doubted,  and  the  gi-eatest  conceivable  difficulties  were  sug- 
gested. Their  lordships  seemed  to  take  quite  a  paternal  interest 
in  the  protection  of  the  public  against  possible  loss  by  the  forma- 
tion of  the  line.  The  Committee  required  that  the  promoters 
should  prove  the  traffic  to  be  brought  upon  the  railway,  and  that 
the  profits  derived  from  the  working,  would  pay  a  dividend  of 
from  six  to  eight  per  cent,  upon  the  money  invested.  A  few 
years  after,  the  policy  of  Parliament  completely  changed  in  this 
respect.  When  the  landed  interest  found  railway  companies 
paying  from  six  to  ten  times  the  marketable  value  of  the  land 
taken,  they  were  ready  to  grant  duplicate  lines  through  the  same 
districts,  without  proving  any  traffic  whatever ! 

It  soon  became  evident,  after  the  proceedings  had  been  opened 
before  the  Committee,  that  the  fate  of  the  biU  had  been  deter- 
mined before  a  word  of  the  evidence  had  been  heard.  At  that 
time  the  committees  of  the  Lords  were  open  to  all  peers ;  and 
the  promoters  of  the  biU  found,  to  their  dismay,  many  of  the 
peers  who  were  avowed  opponents  of  the  measure  as  land  owners, 
sitting  as  judges  to  decide  its  fate.  Their  principal  object  seemed 
to  be,  to  bring  the  proceedings  to  a  termination  as  quickly  as 
possible.  An  attempt  at  negotiation  was  made  in  the  course  of 
the  proceedings  in  committee,  but  failed.  One  party  offered  to 
the  promoters  to  withdraw  their  opposition  on  payment  to  them 
of  10,000^.     This  disgraceful  proposal  was  scouted ;  the  direc- 


THE    BILL   LOST   IN    COMMITTEE.  309 

tors  would  not  bribe  high  enough ;  and  the  bill  was  lost,  on  the 
motion  of  Earl  Brownlow — "  That  the  case  for  the  promoters  of 
the  bill  having  been  concluded,  it  does  not  appear  to  the  Commit- 
tee tliat  they  have  made  out  such  a  case  as  would  warrant  the 
forcing  of  the  proposed  railway  through  the  land  and  property  of 
so  great  a  proportion  of  dissentient  land  OAvners  and  proprietors." 
The  vote  of  the  Committee  confirming  the  resolution,  though 
carried  by  a  large  majority,  was  far  from  unanimous ;  and,  as  the 
result  had  been  foreseen,  measures  were  immediately  taken  to 
neutralize  its  effect  as  regarded  future  operations.  Not  less  than 
32,000/.  had  been  expended  in  preliminary  and  parliamentary 
expenses  up  to  this  stage ;  but  the  promoters  determined  not  to 
look  back,  and  forthwith  made  arrangements  for  prosecuting  the 
bill  in  a  future  session.  A  meeting  of  the  friends  of  the  meas- 
ure was  held  in  London,  attended  by  members  of  both  Houses 
of  Parliament,  and  by  leading  bankers  and  merchants  ;  and  a 
series  of  resolutions  was  passed,  declaring  their  conviction  of  the 
necessity  for  the  railway,  and  deprecating  the  opposition  by  which 
it  had  been  encountered.  Lord  Wharncliffe,  who  had  acted  as 
the  chairman  of  the  Lords  Committee,  attributed  the  failure  of 
the  bill  entirely  to  the  land  owners  ;  and  JMr.  Glynn  subsequently 
declared  that  they  had  tried  to  smother  the  bill  by  the  high  price 
which  they  demanded  for  their  property.  The  result  proved  that 
the  opposition  had  been  really  got  up  mainly  for  the  purpose  of 
being  bought  off;  for  the  same  bill,  when  brought  before  Parlia- 
ment in  the  following  session,  passed  silently  and  almost  without 
opposition.  The  mystery  was  solved  by  the  appearance  of  a  cir- 
cular issued  by  the  directors  of  the  company,  in  which  it  was 
stated,  that  they  had  opened  "  negotiations  "  with  the  most  influ- 
ential of  their  opponents ;  that  "  these  measures  had  been  suc- 
cessful to  a  greater  extent  than  they  had  ventured  to  anticipate  ; 
and  the  most  active  and  formidable  had  been  conciliated."  An 
instructive  commentary  on  the  mode  by  which  these  noble  lords 
and  influential  landed  proprietors  had  been  "  conciliated,"  is  pre- 


310  LIFE  OF   GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

sented  by  the  simple  fact  that  the  estimate  for  land  was  nearly 
trebled,  and  that  the  owners  were  paid  about  750,000?.  for  what 
had  been  originally  estimated  at  250,000/.  The  total  expenses 
of  carrying  the  bill  through  Parliament  amounted  to  the  frightful 
sum  of  72,808/. 

The  land  owners  having  thus  been  "  conciliated,"  the  promoters 
of  the  measure  were  at  length  permitted  to  proceed  with  the  for- 
mation of  their  great  highway,  and  allowed  to  benefit  the  country 
by  establishing  one  of  the  grandest  public  works  that  has  ever 
been  achieved  in  England,  the  utility  of  which  may  almost  be 
pronounced  unparalleled.  Eighty  miles  of  the  railway  were 
shortly  under  construction ;  the  works  were  let  (within  the  esti- 
mates) to  contractors,  who  were  necessarily,  for  the  most  part, 
new  to  such  work.  The  business  of  railway  contractors  was  not 
then  so  well  understood  as  it  has  since  become.  There  were  no 
leviathans  among  them,  as  there  are  now,  able  to  contract  for  the 
formation  of  a  line  of  railway  hundreds  of  miles  in  length  ;  they 
were  for  the  most  part  men  of  small  capital  and  slender  experi- 
ence. Their  tools  and  machinery  were  imperfect ;  they  did  not 
understand  the  economy  of  time  and  piece  labor ;  the  workmen, 
as  well  as  their  masters,  had  stiU  to  learn  their  trade  ;  and  every 
movement  of  an  engineer  was  attended  with  outlays,  which  were 
the  inevitable  result  of  a  new  system  of  things,  but  which  eacli 
succeeding  day's  experience  tended  to  diminish. 

The  difficulties  encountered  by  the  Messrs.  Stephenson,  in  the 
execution  of  the  London  and  Birmingham  Railway,  were  thus 
very  great ;  but  the  most  formidable  of  them  originated  in  the 
character  of  the  works  themselves.  Extensive  tunnels  had  to  be 
driven  through  unknown  strata,  and  miles  of  underground  exca- 
vation accomplished  in  order  to  form  a  level  road  from  valley  to 
valley  under  the  intervening  ridges.  This  kind  of  work  was  the 
newest  of  all  to  the  contractors  of  that  day.  The  experience  of 
the  Messrs.  Stephenson  in  the  collieries  of  the  North,  made  them, 
of  all  living  engineers,  the  best  fitted  to  grapple  with  such  diffi- 


THE   KILSBY   TUNNEL.  311 

culties  ;  but  even  they,  with  all  their  practical  knowledge,  could 
not  have  foreseen  or  anticipated  the  formidable  obstacles  which 
were  encountered  in  the  execution  of  the  Kilsby  Tunnel. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  opposition  to  the  railway  on 
the  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  Northampton  had  compelled  the 
engineer  to  avoid  that  town,  and  to  carry  the  line  through  the 
Kilsby  ridge.  A  tunnel  was  thus  rendered  necessary  of  about 
2400  yai-ds  in  length,  penetrating  about  160  feet  below  the  sur- 
face. The  exact  nature  of  the  strata  throughout  could  not  be 
ascertained  with  precision,  except  by  the  expenditure  of  vast 
sums  in  boring.  Before  the  contract  was  let,  however,  trial  shafts 
were  honestly  sunk  at  different  points,  to  enable  the  contractor  to 
judge  of  the  nature  of  the  ground  through  which  the  excavation 
was  to  be  carried.  On  this  being,  as  it  was  supposed,  sufficiently 
ascertained,  advertisements  for  tenders  were  issued,  and  the  work 
was  let  to  a  contractor  for  90,000Z.  The  result  cannot  be  better 
described  than  in  the  words  of  Sir  F.  Head,  in  his  interesting 
account  of  the  London  and  Northwestern  Railway :  * 

"  The  work  was  in  busy  progress,  wlien,  all  of  a  sudden,  it  was 
ascertained  that,  at  about  200  yards  from  the  south  end  of  the 
tunnel,  there  existed,  ovei-laid  by  a  bed  of  clay  forty  feet  thick, 
a  hidden  quicksand,  which  extended  400  yards  into  the  j^roposed 
tunnel,  and  which  the  trial  shafts  on  each  side  of  it  had,  almost 
miraculously,  just  passed  without  touching. 

"  The  traveler  in  Lidia  could  scarcely  be  more  alai-med  at  'he 
sudden  sight  of  a  crouching  ti";er  before  him,  than  the  contractor 
was  at  the  unexpected  appearance  of  this  invincible  enemy. 
Overwhelmed  at  the  discovery,  he  instantly  took  his  bed,  and 
though  he  was  liberally,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  justly  re- 
lieved by  the  company  from  his  engagement,  the  reprieve  came 
too  late,  for  he  actually  died ! 

"  The  question  then  arose,  whether,  in  the  face  of  this  tremen- 
dous difficulty,  the  execution  of  the   Kilsby  Tunnel  should  be 

*  "Stokei?  and  Pokers."    London  :  Murray,  pp.  19-21. 


312  LIFE   OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

continued  or  abandoned.  The  general  opinion  of  the  several 
eminent  engineers  wlio  were  consulted,  was  against  proceeding, 
and  certainly  the  amount  of  the  difficulties  which  were  subse- 
quently incurred  justified  the  verdict.  But  in  science,  as  well  as 
in  war,  the  word  '  mpossible '  can  occasionally,  by  cool  and  extra- 
ordinary exertions,  be  divested  of  its  first  syllable ;  and,  accord- 
ingly, Mr.  Robert  Stephenson  offering,  after  mature  reflection,  to 
undertake  the  responsibility  of  proceeding,  he  was  duly  author- 
ized to  do  so. 

"  His  first  operation  was,  of  course,  to  endeavor,  by  the  power 
of  steam-engines — the  comrades  of  his  life — to  lower  the  w-ater 
with  which  he  had  to  contend ;  and  although,  to  a  certain  degree, 
this  attempt  succeeded,  yet  by  the  di-aining  of  remote  springs, 
and  by  the  sinking  of  the  water  in  wells  at  considerable  distan- 
ces, it  was  soon  ascertained  that  the  quicksand  in  question  cover- 
ed several  square  miles. 

"  The  tunnel,  thirty  feet  high  by  thirty  feet  broad,  arched  at 
tlie  top  as  well  as  the  bottom,  was  formed  of  bricks  laid  in  ce- 
ment, and  the  bricklayers  were  progressing  in  '  lengths '  averag- 
ing twelve  feet,  when  those  who  were  nearest  the  quicksand,  on 
driving  into  the  roof,  were  suddenly  almost  overwhelmed  by  a 
deluge  of  water  which  burst  in  upon  them.  As  it  was  evident 
that  no  time  was  to  be  lost,  a  gang  of  workmen,  pi'otected  by  the 
extreme  power  of  the  engines,  were,  w'ith  their  materials,  placed 
on  a  raft ;  and  while,  with  the  utmost  celerity,  they  were  complet- 
ing the  walls  of  that  short  length,  the  water,  in  spite  of  every 
effort  to  keep  it  down,  rose  with  such  rapidity  that,  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  work,  the  men  were  so  near  being  jammed  against  the 
roof,  that  the  assistant  engineer,  Mr.  Charles  Lean,  in  charge  of 
the  party,  jumped  overboard,  and  then,  swimming  with  a  rope  in 
his  mouth,  he  towed  the  raft  to  the  foot  of  the  nearest  working 
shaft,  through  which  he  and  his  men  were  safely  lifted  up  into 
daylight,  or,  as  it  is  termed  by  the  miners,  '  to  grass.' 

'•  The  water  now  rose  in  the  shaft,  and,  as  it  is  called,  '  drowned 


EXTORTIONS    OF    THE    LAND    OWNERS.  313 

out '  the  works.  For  a  considerable  time  all  the  pumping  appa- 
ratus appeared  to  be  insufficient.  Indeed,  the  effort  threatened 
to  be  so  hopeless,  that  the  directors  of  the  company  almost  deter- 
mined to  abandon  it ;  but  the  engineer-in-chief,  relying  on  the 
power  of  his  engines,  prayed  for  one  fortnight  more.  Before 
that  period  expired,  science  triumphed  over  her  subterranean  foe, 
and  —  thanks  to  the  inventors  of  the  steam-engine  —  the  water 
gradually  lowered. 

"  By  the  main  strength  of  1250  men,  200  horses,  and  thirteen 
steam-engines,  not  only  was  the  work  gradually  completed,  but 
during  night  and  day,  for  eight  months,  the  astonishing  and  almost 
incredible  quantity  of  1800  gallons  per  minute  from  the  quick- 
sand alone  was  raised  by  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson,  and  conducted 
away ! 

"  The  time  occupied,  from  the  laying  of  the  first  brick  to  the 
completion  of  the  work,  was  thirty  months.  The  number  of 
bricks  used  was  36,000,000  —  sufficient  to  make  a  good  footpath 
from  London  to  Aberdeen  (missing  the  Forth)  a  yard  broad  ! " 

The  cost  of  executing  the  Kilsby  Tunnel  was,  in  consequence 
of  these  formidable  and  unforeseen  difficulties,  increased  from 
90,000/.  (the  amount  of  the  original  estimate)  to  about  SoOjOOO/. 
Enormous  sums  were  paid  for  land  and  compensation  —  far  be- 
yond the  amounts  originally  estimated.  Thus,  3000/.  were  given 
for  one  piece  of  land,  and  10,000/.  for  consequential  damages, 
when  it  was  afterwards  made  clear  that  the  land  had  been  greatly 
impi'oved  in  value  by  the  formation  of  the  railway.  After  com- 
pensation had  been  paid  for  land  alleged  to  have  been  thus  dete- 
riorated, the  company,  on  purchasing  any  further  quantity,  had 
almost  invariably  to  pay  a  higher  price,  on  the  ground  of  its  in- 
creased value !  All  sorts  of  payments  were  demanded  on  the 
most  frivolous  pretexts.  The  land  owners  discovered  that  they 
could  demand  accommodation  bridges,  whicli  they  did  in  large 
numbers.  One  originally  demanded  five,  but  afterwards  came 
down  to  four,  with  an  equivalent  in  the  price  of  the  bridge  given 


814  LIFE   OF   GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

np.  Then  lie  found  he  could  do  with  three  bridges,  provided  the 
company  Avould  pay  him  a  further  sum  in  hard  cash,  which  they 
were  ready  to  do ;  and,  in  like  manner,  he  gave  up  the  remain- 
ing bridges,  on  being  paid  a  further  round  sum :  in  fact,  the 
bridges  were  wholly  unnecessary,  and  had  only  been  insisted  on 
as  a  means  of  extorting  money  from  the  company.  To  these 
causes  of  increased  expense  must  be  added  the  rise  in  the  prices 
of  labor  and  materials,  which  took  place  shortly  after  the  letting 
of  the  works,  by  which  many  of  the  contractors  were  ruined,  no 
fewer  than  seven  of  the  contracts  having  been  thrown  upon  the 
company's  hands.  The  directors  had  then  to  purchase  all  kinds 
of  implements  and  materials  at  gi'eat  expense,  in  order  to  carry 
on  the  works  and  avoid  heavier  loss.  But  the  energy  of  the  en- 
gineers, cordially  supported  by  the  directory  and  proprietors,  en- 
abled them  at  length,  after  many  years'  anxiety,  to  bring  the  stu- 
pendous undertaking  to  a  successful  completion,  though  at  a  cost 
far  beyond  that  which  had  been  originally  estimated. 

The  estimates  laid  by  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson  before  Parlia- 
ment amounted  to  2,750,000/.;  and  it  was  then  confidently  ex- 
pected that  the  works  would  have  been  completed  within  this  sum. 
The  most  eminent  engineers  of  the  day  were  brought  forward  to 
give  evidence  on  the  subject,  and  those  of  the  greatest  experience 
stated  their  opinion  to  be  that  the  estimates  were  altogether  too 
high.  Mr.  Walker  said  the  prices  allowed  were  30  per  cent, 
higher  than  any  he  could  remember.  JNlr.  Locke  considered  them 
too  high ;  and  Mr.  Rastrick  objected  to  support  the  estimates  for 
the  same  reason.  Yet  the  result  proved  them  to  have  been  much 
too  low.  The  works  were,  it  is  ti'ue,  let  to  the  contractors  under 
the  sum  estimated,  but  in  consequence  of  the  adverse  circumstan- 
ces which  occurred  in  the  course  of  their  execution,  the  expendi- 
ture had  reached  the  immense  amount  of  5,000,000/.,  or  about 
double  the  original  estimate,  before  the  line  was  opened  for  pub- 
lic traffic. 

Strong  animadversions  were  made  at  the  time  upon  tliis  ex- 


COST    OF    THE    "WORKS.  315 

cessive  expenditure ;  but  the  circumstances  -which  we  have  stated 
—  the  obstacles  encountered  in  the  Kilsby  and  other  tunnels,  the 
rapid  rise  in  the  price  of  labor  and  materials,  the  extortions  of 
the  land  owners  (which  it  was  impossible  accurately  to  estimate), 
were  sufficient,  in  a  considerable  degree,  to  account  for  the  excess : 
in  addition  to  which,  it  was  a  matter  of  the  greatest  difficulty  for 
men  of  the  very  highest  talent  and  experience  then  to  form  accu- 
rate estimates  of  the  labor  attending  works  of  so  stupendous  a 
character,  in  the  absence  of  the  data  since  furnished  by  experi- 
ence. Mr.  Eobert  Stephenson,  in  his  evidence  before  a  Commit- , 
tee  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  1839,  gave  this  further  expla- 
nation :  "  The  principal  excess,  or  at  least  a  very  large  item 
of  the  excess,  arose  from  the  stations  on  the  line.  The  public 
required  much  larger  accommodation  at  the  stations  than  was 
originally  contemplated.  Li  feet,  at  the  time  the  estimate  of 
the  London  and  Birmingham  Eailway  was  made,  it  was  appre- 
hended that  somethmg  like  25,000/.  or  30,000/.  for  a  station 
at  each  end  of  the  line  was  ample ;  but  they  have  exceeded 
100,000/.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the  expense  of 
stations  has  been  eight  or  ten-fold  beyond  the  parliamentary  esti- 
mate. The  plans  Avere  on  much  too  small  a  scale  in  the  stations 
originally  contemplated."  "  But,"  he  remarked  on  another  occa- 
sion,* "  let  individuals  who  make  observations  as  to  the  excess- 
ive cost  of  the  works  as  compai'ed  with  the  estimates,  look  not  at 
the  commencement,  but  at  their  close.  Let  them  recollect  that 
those  great  works  now  spreading  irresistibly,  like  network,  all 
over  the  country,  are  exciting  commercial  enterprise,  augmenting 
the  national  wealth,  increasing  our  social  comforts,  and  raising 
the  nation  in  the  scale  of  civilization.  It  is  the  end,  therefore, 
that  ought  to  be  looked  at,  and  not  the  beginning ;  and  you,  con- 
tractors, have  all  contributed  your  mite,  as  well  as  myself,  to  pro- 
duce those  glorious  results." 

*  Speech  of  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson  at  the  dinner  given  to  him  by  the  contrattors  for 
the  London  and  Birmingham  Railway,  on  the  occasion  of  presenting  him  with  a  testimo- 
nial, November  IGth,  1839. 


316  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

It  is  i^robable,  indeed,  that  had  the  projectors  of  the  undertak- 
ing foreseen  that  it  would  cost  as  much  as  five  millions  sterling, 
they  would  have  been  deterred  from  entering  upon  it.  As  it  was, 
however,  the  expenditure,  though  immense,  was  justified  by  the 
result ;  for  the  excess  in  the  traffic  beyond  the  estimates,  was 
even  greater  in  proportion  than  the  excess  in  the  capital  expen- 
diture. The  line,  of  112  miles  in  length,  was  opened  on  the  17th 
of  September,  1838,  and  in  the  following  year  the  receipts  from 
passenger  traffic  alone  amounted  to  608,5 G4/.  The  company  was 
enabled  to  pay  its  proprietors  a  large  dividend ;  and  the  results 
of  the  working  were  cited  as  sufficient  grounds  for  pushing  rail- 
ways in  all  directions. 

The  magnitude  of  the  works,  which  Avere  unprecedented  in 
England,  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  features  in  the  under- 
taking. The  following  striking  comparison  has  been  made  be- 
tween this  railway  and  one  of  the  greatest  works  of  ancient  times. 
The  great  Pyramid  of  Egypt  was,  according  to  Diodorus  Siculus, 
constructed  by  three  hundred  thousand — according  to  Heroditus, 
by  one  hundred  thousand  —  men.  It  required  for  its  execution 
twenty  years,  and  the  labor  expended  upon  it  has  been  estimated 
as  equivalent  to  lifting  15,733,000,000  of  cubic  feet  of  stone  one 
foot  high.  "Whereas,  if  in  the  same  manner  the  labor  expended 
in  constructing  the  London  and  Birmingham  Railway  be  reduced 
to  one  common  denomination,  the  result  is  25,000,000,000  of 
cubic  feet  more  than  was  lifted  for  the  Great  Pyramid ;  and  yet 
the  English  work  was  performed  by  about  20,000  men  in  less 
than  five  years.  And  whilst  the  Egyptian  Avork  was  executed  by 
a  powerful  monarch,  concentrating  upon  it  the  labor  and  capital 
of  a  great  nation,  the  English  railway  was  constructed,  in  the 
face  of  every  conceivable  obstruction  and  difficulty,  by  a  company 
of  private  individuals,  out  of  their  own  resources,  without  the 
aid  of  government  or  the  contribution  of  one  farthing  of  the  pub- 
lic money. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

ADVANCE  OF  PUBLIC  OPINION  IN  PAYOR  OF  RAILWAYS. 

NoTwiTHSTAKDiNG  the  decisive  success  of  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  project,  the  prejudices  against  railways  and  railway- 
traveling  continued  very  strong.  Their  advantages  were  already 
fully  known  to  the  inhabitants  of  those  districts  through  which 
they  passed,  for  they  had  experienced  their  practical  benefits  in 
substantial  reductions  in  the  price  of  coal,  in  the  carriage  of  mer 
chandise  of  all  kinds,  and  in  the  cheap  and  rapid  transit  of  their 
persons  from  place  to  place.  The  Liverpool  and  Manchester 
Railway  was  regarded  as  a  national  wonder  from  the  first ;  and 
strangers  resorted  to  Lancashire  from  all  quarters,  to  witness  the 
trains,  and  to  travel  in  the  wake  of  the  locomotive.  To  witness 
a  railway  train  some  five  and  twenty  years  ago,  was  an  event  in 
one's  life. 

But  people  at  a  distance  did  not  see  railways  and  railway  trav- 
eling in  the  same  light.  The  farther  off,  and  the  greater  the 
ignorance  which  prevailed  as  to  their  modes  of  working,  the 
greater,  of  course,  was  the  popular  alai-m.  The  towns  of  the 
South  only  followed  the  example  of  Northampton  when  they 
howled  down  the  railways.  It  was  proposed  to  carry  a  line 
through  Kent,  by  the  populous  county  town  of  Maidstone.  But 
a  public  meeting  was  held  to  oppose  the  project ;  and  the  railway 
had  not  a  single  supporter  amongst  the  townspeople.  The  rail- 
way, when  at  length  formed  through  Kent,  passed  Maidstone  at 

(317) 


318  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

a  distance ;  but  in  a  few  years  the  Maidstone  burgesses,  like  those 
of  Northampton,  became  clamorous  for  a  railway ;  and  a  branch 
was  formed  for  their  accommodation.  Again,  in  a  few  years, 
they  complained  that  the  route  was  circuitous,  as  they  had  com- 
pelled it  to  be  ;  consequently  another  and  shorter  line  was  formed, 
to  bring  Maidstone  into  more  direct  communication  with  the  me- 
tropolis. In  like  manner,  the  London  and  Bristol  (afterwards 
the  Great  Western)  Railway  was  vehemently  opposed  by  the 
people  of  the  towns  through  which  the  line  Avas  projected  to  pass ; 
and  Avhen  the  bill  was  thrown  out  by  the  Lords — after  30,000Z. 
had  been  expended  by  the  promoters — the  inhabitants  of  Eton 
assembled,  under  the  presidency  of  the  Marquis  of  Chandos,  to 
rejoice  and  congratulate  themselves  and  the  country  on  the  defeat 
of  the  measure. 

When  Colonel  Sibthorpe  openly  declared  his  hatred  of  "those 
infernal  railroads,"  he  only  expressed  in  a  strong  manner  the 
feeling  which  then  pervaded  the  country  gentry  and  many  of  the 
middle  classes  in  the  southern  districts.  That  respectable  noble- 
man, the  late  Eai'l  of  Harewood,  when  it  was  urged  by  the  gen- 
tleman Avho  waited  upon  him  on  behalf  of  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  Company,  that  great  advantages  to  trade  and  com- 
merce were  to  be  anticipated  from  the  facilities  Avhich  would  be 
afforded  by  railways,  refused  to  admit  the  force  of  the  argument, 
as  he  doubted  whether  any  new  impetus  to  manufactures  would 
be  advantageous  to  the  country.  And  Mr.  H.  Berkley,  the  intel- 
ligent member  for  Cheltenham,  in  hke  manner,  strongly  expressed 
the  views  of  his  class,  when,  at  a  public  meeting  held  in  that  town, 
he  declared  his  utter  detestation  of  railways,  and  wished  that  the 
concoctors  of  every  such  scheme,  with  their  solicitors  and  engin- 
eers, were  at  rest  in  Paradise  !  "  Nothing,"  said  he,  "  is  more 
distasteful  to  me  than  to  hear  the  echo  of  our  hills  reverberating 
with  the  noise  of  hissing  railroad  engines  running  tlu-ough  the 
heart  of  our  hunting  country,  and  destroying  that  noble  sport  to 
which  I  have  been  accustomed  from  my  childhood,"     Colonel 


SANITARY    OBJECTIONS    TO    RAILWAYS.  319 

Sibthorpe  even  went  so  far  as  to  declare  that  he  "  would  rather 
meet  a  highwayman,  or  see  a  burglar  on  his  premises,  than  an 
engineer ;  he  should  be  much  more  safe,  and,  of  the  two  classes, 
he  thought  the  former  more  respectable  !  " 

Railways  had  thus,  like  most  other  great  social  improvements, 
to  force  their  way  against  the  fierce  antagonism  of  united  igno- 
rance and  prejudice.  Public-spirited  obstructives  were  ready  to 
choke  the  invention  at  its  birth,  on  the  ground  of  tlie  general 
good.  The  forcible  invasion  of  property — the  intrusion  of  public 
roads  into  private  domains — the  noise  and  nuisance  caused  by 
locomotives,  and  the  danger  of  fire  to  the  adjoining  property, 
were  dwelt  upon  ad  nauseam.  Then  the  breed  of  liorses  would 
DC  destroyed  ;  counh-y  innkeepers  would  be  ruined  ;  })osting  towns 
would  become  depopulated  ;  the  turnpike  roads  would  be  deserted; 
and  the  institution  of  the  English  stage-coach,  with  its  rosy-gilled 
coachman  and  guard,  known  to  every  buxom  landlady  at  roadside 
country  inns,  would  be  destroyed  forever.  Fox-covers  and  game- 
preserves  would  be  interfered  with ;  agricultural  communication 
destroyed  ;  land  thrown  out  of  cultivation ;  land  owners  and 
farmei's  alike  reduced  to  beggary ;  the  poor-rates  increased  in 
consequence  of  the  numbers  of  laborers  thrown  out  of  employ- 
ment by  the  railways ;  and  all  this  in  order  that  Liverpool,  Man- 
chester and  Birmingham  manufacturers,  merchants,  and  cotton- 
spinners,  might  establish  a  monstrous  monopoly  in  railroads ! 
However,  tliei*e  was  always  this  consolation  to  wind  uj)  with  — 
that  the  canals  would  beat  the  railroads,  and  that,  even  if  the 
latter  were  made,  the  public  would  not  use  them,  nor  trust  either 
their  persons  or  their  goods  to  the  risks  of  railway  accidents  and 
explosions.  They  would  thus  prove  only  monuments  of  the  folly 
of  their  projectors,  whom  they  must  inevitably  involve  in  ruin 
and  disaster. 

Sanitary  objections  were  also  urged  in  opposition  to  railways ; 
and  many  wise  doctors  strongly  inveighed  against  tunnels.  Sir 
Anthony  Carlisle   insisted   that  "  tunnels  would  expose  healthy 


320  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

people  to-  colds,  catarrhs,  and  consumption."  The  noise,  the 
darkness,  and  the  dangers  of  tunnel  traveling  were  depicted  in 
all  their  horrors.  Worst  of  all,  however,  was  "  the  destruction 
of  the  atmospheric  air,"  as  Dr.  Lardner  termed  it.  Elaborate 
calculations  were  made  by  that  gentleman  to  prove  that  the  pro- 
vision of  ventilating  shafts  would  be  altogether  insufficient  to 
prevent  the  dangers  arising  fi-om  the  combustion  of  coke,  pro- 
ducing carbonic  acid  gas,  which,  in  large  quantities,  was  fatal  to 
life.  He  showed,  for  instance,  that  in  the  proposed  Box  Tunnel, 
on  the  Great  Western  Railway,  the  passage  of  a  load  of  100  tons 
would  deposit  about  3090  lbs.  of  noxious  gases,  incapable  of  sup- 
porting life !  Here  was  an  uncomfortable  prospect  of  suffocation 
for  passengers  between  London  and  Bristol.  But  steps  were 
adopted  to  allay  these  formidable  sources  of  terror.  Solemn 
documents,  in  the  form  of  certificates,  were  got  up  and  published, 
signed  by  several  of  the  most  distinguished  physicians  of  the  day, 
attesting  the  perfect  wholesomeness  of  tunnels,  and  the  purity  of 
the  air  in  them.*  Perhaps  they  went  further  than  was  necessary, 
in  alleging,  what  certainly  subsequent  experience  has  not  verified, 
that  the  atmosphere  of  the  tunnel  was  "  dry,  of  an  agreeable  tem- 
perature, and  free  from  smell."  Mr.  Stephenson  declared  his 
conviction  that  a  tunnel  twenty  miles  long  could  be  worked 
safely,  and  without  more  danger  to  life  than  a  railway  in  the  open 
air ;  but  at  the  same  time,  he  admitted  that  tunnels  were  nuisan- 
ces, which  he  endeavored  to  avoid  wherever  practicable. 

Meanwhile  the  extension  of  railways  in  various  directions  con- 
tinued to  be  discussed ;  but  the  legislature  took  no  directing  part 
in  the  matter.  Their  vis  inertice  was  indeed  at  length  overcome ; 
and  by  dint  of  repeated  pressure  from  without,  carried  on  at  great 
cost,  the  railway  system  was  gradually  extended.     Parhament 

*  See  Report  of  Experiments  made  in  the  Primrose  Hill  Tunnel  of  the  London  and  Bir- 
mingham Railway,  signed  by  Drs.  Paris  and  Watson,  Mr.  Lawrence,  Mr.  Phillips,  and 
Mr.  0.  Lucas  ;  and  Report  on  the  Leeds  and  Selby  Tunnel,  signed  by  Drs.  Dayy,  Roth- 
man,  and  Williamson. 


THE    LOCOMOTIVE    ON    COMMON    ROADS.  821 

could  not  disregard  the  urgent  and  repeated  petitions  of  the  com- 
mercial towns  of  the  North  for  improved  postal  communication. 
But  the  legislature  was  dragged  on ;  it  did  not  by  any  means 
aspire  to  guide  or  direct.  Whilst  associations  of  private  persons, 
mostly  belonging  to  the  trading  classes,  were  endeavoring  to  force 
on  the  adoption  of  railways,  the  English  Lords  and  Commons — 
unlike  the  government  of  Belgium,  which  early  adopted  the  rail- 
way system — occupied  themselves  in  discussing  the  improvement 
of  the  turnpike  roads.  The  country  gentlemen  determined  to 
mend  and  patch  up  the  old  highways  as  well  as  they  could. 
Their  motto  was  stare  super  antiquas  vias.  The  macadamized 
system  was  becoming  effete,  but  they  did  not  know  it.  The  sur- 
prising performances  of  the  "Eockct"  at  Rainhill  opened  their 
eyes  to  the  significance  of  the  locomotive  engine ;  but  they  could 
not  yet  rise  above  the  idea  of  a  macadamized  road,  and  hence 
they  hailed  the  proposal  to  apply  the  locomotive  to  turnpikes. 
In  the  year  1831  the  House  of  Commons  appointed  a  Committee 
to  inquire  into,  and  report  upon — not  the  railway  system — but 
the  applicability  of  the  steam-carriage  to  traveling  on  common 
roads.  Before  this  Committee,  Mr.  Trevethick,  Mr.  Goldsworthy 
Gurney,  Nathaniel  Ogle,  and  others,  were  examined ;  and  the 
Committee  were  so  satisfied  with  their  evidence,  that  they  reported 
decidedly  in  favor  of  the  road-locomotive  system.  Though  rail- 
ways were  ignored,  yet  the  steam-carriage  was  recognized. 

But  there  are  limits  to  the  wisdom  even  of  a  parliamentary 
committee.  Although  many  trials  of  steam-carriages  were  made 
by  Sir  Charles  Dance,  Mr.  Hancock,  Mr.  Gurney,  Sir  James 
Anderson,  and  others,  and  though  the  House  of  Commons  had 
reported  in  their  favor,  Mr.  Stephenson's  first  verdict,  pronounced 
upon  them  many  years  before — that  they  could  never  successfully 
compete  with  locomotive  engines  on  railroads,  nor  even  with 
horses  on  common  roads — was  fully  borne  out  by  the  result ;  for 
the  steam-carriage  projects,  after  ruining  many  speculators  and 
experimenters,  were  at  length  abandoned  in  favor  of  railways, 
21 


322  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

which  extended  in  all  directions.  Another  attempt  was,  how- 
ever, made  in  1836,  in  favor  of  the  common-road  locomotive 
system ;  when  a  bill  was  passed  through  the  House  of  Commons 
to  repeal  the  acts  imposing  prohibitory  tolls  on  steam-carriages. 
When  the  bill  went  into  the  Lords,  it  was  referred  to  a  commit- 
tee, who  took  evidence  on  the  subject  at  great  length.  Many 
witnesses  were  examined  in  support  of  steam-carriages,  including 
Mr.  Gurney,  Mr.  Hancock,  and  others,  who  strongly  testified  to 
their  economy  and  efficiency. 

Their  lordships  then  called  before  them  Mr.  Stephenson,  whose 
experience  as  a  locomotive  engineer  entitled  him  to  be  heard  on 
such  a  subject.  "  The  steam-carriages,"  he  said,  "  will  never  do 
any  good  on  a  common  road :  I  do  not  see  the  slightest  possibility 
of  it."  The  principal  difficulty,  in  his  opinion,  was  the  friction 
between  the  wheel  and  the  road — so  great,  that  it  was  as  much 
as  the  road-engine  could  do  to  drag  its  own  weight.  Then,  from 
the  inevitable  inequalities  in  common  roads,  the  machinery  of  the 
road-engine  would  be  liable  to  constantly-recurring  accidents, 
which  no  springs  yet  invented  would  enable  it  to  avoid.  But 
even  admitting  that  the  road-engine  could  be  made  to  go  regulai- 
ly,  he  was  quite  confident  that  it  could  not  be  made  to  go  so  as 
to  pay,  even  though  all  the  tolls  were  taken  off.  Besides  these 
objections,  there  was  the  element  of  danger  in  the  road  locomo- 
tive ;  for  its  boiler  could  not  be  constructed  so  small  and  so  light 
as  to  enable  it  to  do  any  heavy  work  without  risk  of  bursting. 
He  then  contrasted  it  with  the  railway  locomotive.  "  Our 
engines,"  he  said,  "  are  from  twenty  to  thirty  horse  power,  whilst 
those  on  the  common  roads  are  not  more  than  three  or  four  horse 
power.  Tiie  road  locomotive  must  necessarily  be  limited,  whereas 
the  power  of  the  railway  locomotive  can  be  increased  to  almost 
any  extent.  We  have  engines  now  constructed  that  can  haul  400 
tons  on  a  level  railway,  taking  a  large  ship-load  of  goods  in  one 
train,  at  fifteen  miles  an  hour.  I  will  engage  to  make  a  locomo- 
tive of  a  hundred  horse  power  to  run  upon  a  railway.     I  have 


THE  UNDERTAKING  REPORTED  AGAINST.      323 

already  made  some  of  fifty  horse  power  for  Belgium  and  the 
United  States." 

His  evidence  was  so  strong  and  conclusive,  that  it  could  not 
fail  to  have  gi'eat  weight  with  their  lordships  ;  and  in  their  report 
to  the  House,  they  said :  "  It  appeal's  that  some  experienced 
engineers,  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  expense  attendant 
upon  it  (the  common-road  steam-carriage),  have  been  induced  to 
abandon  all  hopes  of  its  success  as  a  profitable  undertaking.  It 
is  probable,  therefore,  that  any  encouragement  on  the  part  of  the 
legislature  would  only  give  rise  to  wild  speculations,  ruinous  to 
those  engaging  in  them,  and  to  experiments  dangerous  to  the 
public."  *  However  unjust  the  prohibitory  tolls  on  steam- 
carriages  might  be,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  decision  of  the 
committee  as  to  the  impracticability  of  the  steam-carriage  system 
was  correct,  and  that  there  was  no  hope  of  its  ever  competing 
successfully  on  common  roads  with  the  locomotive  railway.  The 
highest  speed  which  the  promoters  promised  was  ten  miles  an 
hour ;  but  this  would  no  longer  satisfy  the  public  requirements, 
now  that  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway  had  demonstra- 
ted the  practicability  and  the  safety  of  regular  traveling  at  thirty 
and  forty  miles  an  hour.  The  House  of  Commons  prophecy,  that 
"  a  railway  could  never  enter  into  successful  competition  with  a 
canal,  and  that,  even  with  the  best  locomotive  engine,  the  average 
rate  would  be  but  three  miles  and  a  half  per  hour,"  f  was  now 
laughed  at,  because  so  ludicrously  at  variance  with  every-day 
facts. 

The  opening  of  the  great  main  line  of  railroad  commimication 
between  London,  Liverpool,  and  Manchester,  in  1838,  shortly 
proved  the  fallaciousness  of  the  rash  prophecies  promulgated  by 
the  opponents  of  railways.     The  proprietors  of  the  canals  were 

*  Report  of  the  Lords'  Committee  appointed  to  consider  the  Bill,  entitled  "  An  Act  to 
repeal  such  Portions  of  all  Acts  as  impose  prohibitory  Tolls  on  Steam-Carriages,  and  to 
substitute  other  Tolls  on  an  equitable  Footing  with  Horse-Carriages."'    Session  1836. 

t  Hansard.  2d  series,  vol.  iv,  p.  853. 


324  LIFE  OF   GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

astounded  by  the  fact  that,  notwithstanding  the  immense  traffic 
conveyed  by  rail,  their  own  traffic  and  receipts  continued  to  in- 
crease ;  and  that,  in  common  with  other  interests,  they  fully 
shared  in  the  expansion  of  trade  and  commerce  which  had  been 
so  elFectually  promoted  by  the  extension  of  the  railway  system. 
The  cattle-owners  were  equally  amazed  to  find  the  price  of  horse- 
flesh increasing  with  the  extension  of  railways,  and  that  the 
number  of  coaches  running  to  and  from  the  new  railway  stations 
gave  employment  to  a  greater  number  of  horses  than  under  the 
old  stage-coach  system.  Those  Avho  had  prophesied  the  decay 
of  the  metropolis,  and  the  ruin  of  the  suburban  cabbage-growers, 
in  consequence  of  the  approach  of  railways  to  London,*  were 
also  disappointed.  For,  whilst  the  new  roads  let  citizens  out  of 
London,  they  let  country  people  in.  Their  action,  in  this  respect, 
was  centripetal  as  well  as  centrifugal.  Tens  of  thousands  who 
had  never  seen  the  metropolis  could  now  visit  it  expeditiously 
and  cheaply.  And  Londoners  who  had  never  visited  the  country, 
or  but  rarely,  were  enabled,  at  little  cost  of  time  or  money,  to  see 
green  fields  and  clear  blue  skies,  far  from  the  smoke  and  bustle 
of  town.  If  the  dear  suburban-grown  cabbages  became  depre- 
ciated in  value,  there  were  truck-loads  of  fresh-grown  country 
cabbages  to  make  amends  for  the  loss :  in  this  case,  the  "  partial 
evil"  was  a  far  more  general  good.  The  food  of  the  metropolis 
became  rapidly  improved,  especially  in  the  supply  of  wholesome 
meat  and  vegetables.  And  then  the  price  of  coals — an  article 
which,  in  this  country,  is  as  indispensable  as  daily  food  to  all 
classes — was  greatly  reduced.     What  a  blessing   to  the  metro- 

*  "  The  first  practical  effect,"  said  the  John  Bull,  in  September,  1838,  "  of  these  unnat- 
ural forcings  of  humanity  will  be,  the  reduction  in  value  of  all  property  near  London, 
and  the  proportionate  increase  of  value  in  property  more  remote.  All  the  delicate  pro- 
duce of  the  garden  and  the  field,  which  round  town  is  cultivated  with  the  most  assiduous 
care,  and  consequently  sold  at  a  high  and  remunerating  price,  will  be  excluded  from  our 
markets  :  fine  fruit,  fine  vegetables,  raised  and  produced  at  half,  or  less  than  half  the 
cost,  will  be  brought  into  competition  with  those  which  have  hitherto  been  raised  and 
ripened  by  a  great  expenditure  in  high  wages,  and  carried  to  the  place  of  sale  by  teams 
of  horses  kept  at  a  considerable  expense.    AU  this  must  end." 


UNFULFILLED    PROPHECIES    OF   EVIL.  325 

politan  poor  is  described  in  this  single  fact !  And  George  Ste- 
phenson was  not  only  the  inventor  of  the  system  of  internal 
communication  by  which  coals  were  made  cheaper  in  London, 
but  he  was  also  the  originator  of  the  now  gigantic  trade  in  coal 
conveyed  to  the  metropolis  by  railway. 

The  prophecies  of  ruin  and  disaster  to  landlords  and  farmers 
were  equally  confounded  by  the  opening  of  the  London  and  Bir- 
mingham Railway.  The  agricultural  communications,  so  far 
from  being  "  destroyed,"  as  had  been  predicted,  were  immensely 
improved.  The  farmers  were  enabled  to  buy  their  coals,  lime, 
and  manure  for  less  money,  whilst  they  obtained  a  readier  access 
to  the  best  markets  for  their  stock  and  farm-produce. 

Notwithstanding  the  predictions  to  the  contrary,  their  cows 
gave  milk  as  before,  their  sheep  fed  and  fattened,  and  even  skit- 
tish horses  ceased  to  shy  at  the  passing  locomotive.  The  smoke 
of  the  engines  did  not  obscure  the  sky,  nor  were  fju-m-yards  burnt 
up  by  the  fire  thrown  from  the  locomotives.  The  forming  classes 
were  not  reduced  to  beggary ;  on  the  contrary,  they  soon  felt  that, 
far  from  having  any  thing  to  dread,  they  had  very  much  good  to 
expect  from  the  extension  of  railways. 

Landlords  also  found  that  they  could  get  higher  rents  for  farms 
situated  near  a  railway,  than  at  a  distance  from  one.  Hence 
they  became  clamorous  for  "  sidings."  They  felt  it  to  be  a  griev- 
ance to  be  placed  at  a  distance  from  a  station.  After  a  railway 
had  been  once  opened,  not  a  landlord  would  consent  to  have  the 
line  taken  from  him.  Owners  who  had  fought  the  promoters 
before  Parliament,  and  compelled  them  to  pass  their  domains  at 
a  distance,  at  a  vastly-increased  expense  in  tunnels  and  devia- 
tions, now  petitioned  for  branches  and  nearer  station  accommoda- 
tion.*    Those  who  held  property  near  towns,  and  had  extorted 

♦  Some  landlords  were  slow  in  learning  the  advantages  of  railways.  When,  many  years 
later,  an  important  railway  bill  was  before  Parliament,  a  noble  marquis  compelled  the 
company  to  pass  his  mansion  at  a  distance  of  at  least  fiye  miles,  to  do  which  it  was  neces- 
sary to  construct  two  expensive  tunnels  When  the  line  was  opened,  his  lordship  felt 
the  exceeding  inconvenience  of  being  so  far  distant  from  a  railway  station,  and  requested 


326  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

large  sums  as  compensation  for  the  anticipated  deterioration  in 
the  value  of  their  building  land,  found  a  new  demand  for  it 
springing  up  at  greatly  advanced  prices.  Land  was  now  adver- 
tised for  sale,  with  the  attraction  of  being  "near  a  railway  station." 
The  prediction  that,  even  if  railways  were  made,  the  public 
would  not  use  them,  was  also  completely  falsified  by  the  results. 
The  ordinary  mode  of  fast  traveling  for  the  middle  classes  had 
heretofore  been  by  mail-coach  and  stage-coach.  Those  who  could 
not  afford  to  pay  the  high  prices  charged  for  such  conveyances 
went  by  wagon,  and  the  poorer  classes  trudged  on  foot.  George 
Stephenson  was  wont  to  say  that  he  hoped  to  sec  the  day  when 
it  would  be  cheaper  for  a  poor  man  to  travel  by  railway  than  to 
walk ;  and  not  many  years  passed  before  his  expectation  was 
fulfilled.  In  no  country  in  the  world  is  time  worth  more  money 
than  in  England ;  and  by  saving  time — the  critei'ion  of  distance 
— the  railway  proved  a  great  benefactor  to  men  of  industry  in  all 
classes.  Many  deplored  the  inevitable  downfall  of  the  old  stage- 
coach system.  There  was  to  be  an  end  of  that  delightful  variety 
of  incident  usually  attendant  on  a  journey  by  road.  The  rapid 
scamper  across  a  fine  country  on  the  outside  of  the  four-horse 
"Express,"  or  "Highflyer;"  the  seat  on  the  box  beside  Jehu,  or 
the  equally  coveted  place  near  the  facetious  guard  behind ;  the 
journey  amid  open  green  fields,  through  smiling  villages  and  fine 
old  towns,  where  the  stage  stopped  to  change  horses  and  the 
passengers  to  dine — was  all  very  delightful  in  its  way;  and  many 
regretted  that  tliis  old-fashioned  and  pleasant  style  of  traveling 
was  about  to  pass  away.  But  it  had  its  dark  side  also.  Any  one 
who  remembers  the  journey  by  stage  from  Manchester  to  London 
will  associate  it  with  recollections  and  sensations  of  not  unmixed 
delight.     To  be  perched  for  twenty-four  hours,  exposed  to  all 

the  company  to  provide  a  branch  for  his  accommodation.  As  he  had  already  put  them 
to  enormous  and  unnecessary  expense,  they  respectfully  declined  doing  so,  and  he  ha* 
since  been  under  the  necessity  of  himself  constructing  a  branch  at  a  cost  of  160,000/. 
■which  he  has  requested  the  parent  company  to  do  him  the  favor  of  working  for  him. 


STAGE-COACH   AND    RAILWAY    TRAVELING.  327 

weathers,  on  the  outside  of  a  coach,  trying  in  vain  to  find  a  soft 
seat — sitting  now  with  the  face  to  the  wind,  rain,  or  sun,  and  now 
with  the  back — without  any  shelter  such  as  the  commonest 
penny-a-mile  parliamentary  train  now  daily  provides — was  a 
miserable  undertaking,  looked  forward  to  with  horror  by  many 
whose  business  called  upon  them  to  travel  frequently  between  the 
provinces  and  the  metropolis.  Nor  were  the  inside  passengers 
more  agreeably  accommodated.  To  be  closely  packed  up  in  a 
little  inconvenient,  straight-backed  vehicle,  where  the  cramped 
limbs  could  not  be  in  the  least  extended,  nor  the  wearied  frame 
indulge  in  any  change  of  posture,  was  felt  by  many  to  be  a  ter- 
rible thing.  Then  there  were  the  constantly-recurring  demands, 
not  always  couched  in  the  politest  terms,  for  an  allowance  to  the 
driver  every  two  or  three  stages,  and  to  the  guard  every  six  or 
eight ;  and  if  the  gratuity  did  not  equal  their  expectations,  growl- 
ing and  open  abuse  were  not  unusual.  These  desagremens, 
together  with  the  exactions  practiced  on  travelers  by  inn-keepers, 
seriously  detracted  from  the  romance  of  stage-coach  traveling ; 
and  there  was  a  general  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  public  to 
change  the  system  for  a  better. 

The  avidity  with  which  the  public  at  once  availed  themselves 
of  the  railways  proved  that  this  better  system  had  been  discover- 
ed. Notwithstanding  the  reduction  of  the  coach  fares  between 
London  and  Birmingham  to  one-third  of  their  previous  rate,  the 
public  preferred  traveling  by  the  railway.  They  saved  in  time  ; 
and  they  saved  in  money,  taking  the  whole  expense  into  account. 
In  point  of  comfort  there  could  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  infinite 
superiority  of  the  railway  carriage.  But  there  remained  the 
question  of  safety,  which  had  been  a  great  bug-bear  witli  the 
early  opponents  of  railways,  and  was  made  the  most  of  by  the 
coach  proprietors  to  deter  the  public  from  using  them.  It  was 
predicted  that  trains  of  passengers  would  be  blown  to  pieces,  and 
that  none  but  fools  would  entrust  their  persons  to  the  conduct  of 
an  explosive  machine  such  as  the  locomotive.    It  appeared,  how- 


328  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

ever,  that  during  the  first  eight  years  not  fewer  than  five  millions 
of  passengers  had  been  conveyed  along  the  Liverpool  and  Man- 
chester Railway,  and  of  this  vast  number  only  two  persons  had 
lost  their  lives  by  accident.  During  the  same  period,  the  loss  of 
life  by  the  upsetting  of  stage-coaches  had  been  immensely  greater 
in  proportion.  The  public  were  not  slow,  therefore,  to  detect  the 
fact,  that  traveling  by  railways  was  greatly  safer  than  traveling 
by  common  road ;  and  in  all  districts  penetrated  by  railways  the 
coaches  were  very  shortly  taken  off  from  want  of  support. 

Mr.  Stephenson  himself  had  a  narrow  escape  in  one  of  the 
stage-coach  accidents  so  common  twenty  years  ago,  but  which 
are  already  almost  forgotten.  While  the  Birmingham  line  was 
under  construction,  he  had  occasion  to  travel  from  Ashby-de-la- 
Zouche  to  London  by  coach.  He  was  an  inside  passenger  with 
several  others;  and  the  outsides  wei'e  pretty  numerous.  When 
within  ten  miles  of  Dunstable,  he  felt,  from  the  rolling  of  the 
coach,  that  one  of  the  linch-pins  securing  the  wheels  had  given 
way,  and  that  the  vehicle  must  upset.  He  endeavored  so  to  fix 
himself  in  his  seat,  holding  on  firmly  by  the  arm-straps,  that  he 
might  save  himself  on  whichever  side  the  coach  fell.  The  coach 
soon  toppled  over,  and  fell  crash  upon  the  road,  amidst  the  shrieks 
of  his  fellow  passengers  and  the  smashing  of  glass.  He  imme- 
diately pulled  himself  up  by  the  arm-strap  above  him,  let  down 
the  coach  window,  and  climbed  out.  The  coachman  and  pas- 
sengers lay  scattered  about  on  the  road,  stunned,  and  some  of 
them  bleeding,  whilst  the  horses  were  plunging  in  their  harness. 
Taking  out  his  pocket  knife,  he  at  once  cut  the  traces  and  set 
the  horses  free.  He  then  went  to  the  help  of  the  passengers, 
who  were  all  more  or  less  hurt.  The  guard  had  his  arm  broken ; 
and  the  driver  was  seriously  cut  and  contused.  A  scream  from 
one  of  his  fellow-passenger  "insides"  here  attracted  his  attention: 
it  proceeded  from  an  elderly  lady,  whom  he  had  before  observed 
to  be  decorated  with  one  of  the  enormous  bonnets  in  fashion  at 
that  time.     Opening  the  coach  door  he  lifted  the  lady  out ;  and 


ARISTOCRATIC    PREJUDICES    OVERCOME.  329 

her  principal  lamentation  was  that  her  large  bonnet  had  been 
crushed  beyond  remedy !  Mr.  Stephenson  then  proceeded  to  the 
nearest  village  for  help,  and  saw  the  passengers  i^rovided  with 
proper  assistance  before  he  himself  went  foi'ward  on  his  journey. 
It  was  some  time  before  the  more  opulent  classes,  who  could 
afford  to  post  to  town  in  aristocratic  style,  became  reconciled  to 
railway  traveling.  The  old  families  did  not  relish  the  idea  of 
being  conveyed  in  a  train  of  passengers  of  all  ranks  and  condi- 
tions, in  which  the  shopkeeper  and  the  peasant  were  carried  along 
at  the  same  speed  as  the  duke  and  the  baron — the  only  difference 
being  in  price.  It  was  another  deplorable  illustration  of  the 
leveling  tendencies  of  the  age.*  It  put  an  end  to  that  gradation 
of  rank  in  traveling,  which  was  one  of  the  few  things  left  by 
which  the  nobleman  could  be  distinguished  from  the  Manchester 
manufiicturer  and  bagman.  So,  for  a  time,  many  of  the  old 
families  sent  forward  their  servants  and  luggage  by  railway,  and 
condemned  themselves  to  jog  along  the  old  highway  in  the  ac- 
customed family  chariot,  dragged  by  country  post-horses.  But 
the  superior  comfort  of  the  railway  shortly  recommended  itself  to 
even  the  oldest  families ;  posting  went  out  of  date ;  post-horses 
wei'e  with  difficulty  to  be  had  along  even  the  great  highroads ; 
and  nobles  and  servants,  manufacturers  and  peasants,  alike  shared 
in  the  comfort,  the  convenience  and  the  dispatch  of  railway 
traveling.  The  late  Dr.  Arnold  of  Rugby  regarded  the  opening 
of  the  London  and  Birmingham  line  as  but  another  step  accom- 

*  At  a  meeting  of  the  Chesterfield  Mechanics'  Institute,  at  which  Mr.  Stephenson  was 
present,  one  of  the  speakers  said  of  him,  "  Known  as  he  is  wherever  steam  and  iron  have 
opened  the  swift  lines  of  communication  to  our  countrjmen,  and  regarded  by  all  as  the 
Father  of  Railways,  he  might  he  called,  in  the  most  honorable  acceptation  of  the  term, 
the  first  and  greatest  leveler  of  the  age."  Mr.  Stephenson  joined  heartily  in  the  laugh 
which  followed  this  description  of  himself.  Sir  Humphry  Davy  was  once  similarly  char- 
acterized; but  the  remark  was  somewhat  differently  appreciated.  When  traveling  on 
the  Continent,  a  distinguished  person  about  a  foreign  court  inquired  who  and  what  he 
was,  never  having  heard  of  his  scientific  fame.  Upon  being  told  that  his  discoveries  had 
'^revolutionized  chemistry,"  the  courtier  promptly  replied,  "I  hate  all  revolutionists; 
his  presence  wiU  not  be  acceptable  here." 


330  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

plished  in  the  great  march  of  civilization.  "I  rejoice  to  see  it," 
he  said,  as  he  stood  on  one  of  the  bridges,  and  watched  the  train 
flashing  along,  and  away  through  the  distant  hedge-rows — "I 
rejoice  to  see  it,  and  think  that  feudality  is  gone  forever.  It  is 
so  great  a  blessing  to  think  that  any  one  evil  is  really  extinct." 

It  was  long  before  the  late  Duke  of  Wellington  would  trust 
liimself  behind  a  locomotive.  The  fatal  accident  to  Mr.  Huskis- 
son,  which  had  happened  before  his  eyes,  contributed  to  prejudice 
him  strongly  against  railways  ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  year  1843 
that  he  performed  his  first  trip  on  the  Southwestern  Railway,  in 
attendance  upon  Her  Majesty.  Prince  Albert  had  for  some 
time  been  accustomed  to  travel  by  railway  alone ;  but  in  1842, 
the  Queen  began  to  make  use  of  the  same  mode  of  conveyance 
between  "Windsor  and  London,  after  which  the  antipathies  of  even 
the  most  prejudiced  were  eifectually  set  at  rest. 


CHAPTER    XXVII, 


MIDLAND  RAILWAYS. 


Mr.  Stephexsox  resided  in  Livei'iDool  until  after  the  com- 
pletion and  opening  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway. 
He  then  removed  to  Alton  Grange,  near  Ashby-de-la-Zouche,  in 
Leicestershire,  where  he  lived  for  several  years.  Whilst  his  son 
Robert  was  engaged  as  engineer  in  superintending  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Leicester  and  Swannington  Railway  in  1830,  his  ex- 
perience as  a  coal-viewer  and  practical  geologist  suggested  to 
him  that  coal  was  to  be  found  in  the  estate  of  Snibston,  near 
Ashby,  then  advertised  for  sale,  and  lying  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  the  line  of  railway.  He  mentioned  the  circum- 
stance to  his  father,  who  inspected  the  ground,  and  came  to  the 
same  conclusion. 

The  large  manufacturing  town  of  Leicester,  about  fourteen 
miles  distant,  had  up  to  that  time  been  exclusively  supplied  with 
coal  brought  by  canal  from  Derbyshire ;  and  Mr.  Stephenson 
was  quick  to  perceive  that  the  railway  under  construction,  from 
Swannington  to  Leicester,  would  furnish  him  with  a  ready  mar- 
ket for  any  coals  which  he  might  find  at  Snibston.  Having 
induced  two  of  his  Liverpool  friends  to  join  him  in  the  venture, 
the  Snibston  estate  was  purchased  in  1831 ;  and  Mr.  Stephenson 
removed  liis  home  from  Liverpool  to  Alton  Grange,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  superintending  the  sinking  of  the  pit.     He  traveled  by 

(331) 


332  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

gig  with  his  wife — his  fjivorite  horse  "Bobby"  performing  the 
journey  by  easy  stages. 

Sinking  operations  were  immediately  commenced,  and  proceed- 
ed satisfactorily  until  the  old  enemy,  water,  burst  in  upon  the 
workmen,  and  threatened  to  drown  them  out.  But  by  means  of 
efficient  pumping  engines,  and  the  skillful  casing  of  the  shaft  with 
segments  of  cast  iron — a  process  called  "tubbing,"  which  Mr. 
Stephenson  was  the  first  to  adopt  in  the  Midland  counties — it 
was  eventually  made  water-tight,  and  the  sinking  proceeded. 
When  a  depth  of  166  feet  had  been  reached,  a  still  more  formi- 
dable difficulty  presented  itself — one  which  had  baffled  former 
sinkers,  and  deterred  them  from  further  operations.  This  was 
a  dyke  of  fused  granite,  which  had  been  brought  down  by  vol- 
canic dction  from  the  adjacent  Charnwood  Forest  range,  and  here 
overlapped  the  coal-bed  of  the  district.  Mi*.  Stephenson  fell 
backu|v^n  his  old  motto,  "Persevere:"  he  determined  to  go  on 
boring;  and  down  through  the  solid  granite  he  went  until,  twen- 
ty-two f(-et  lower,  he  came  upon  the  coal  measures.  In  the 
meantiTixe,  however,  lest  the  boring  at  this  point  should  prove 
unsuccessful,  he  had  commenced  sinking  another  pair  of  shafts 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  west  of  the  "fault;"  and  after  about 
nine  months'  labor  he  reached  the  principal  seam,  called  the 
"main  coal." 

The  works  were  then  opened  out  on  a  large  scale,  and  Mr. 
Stephenson  had  the  pleasure  and  good  fortune  to  send  the  first 
train  of  main  coal  to  Leicester  by  railway.  The  price  was  im- 
mediately reduced  there  to  about  8s.  a  ton,  effecting  a  pecuniary 
saving  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  about  40,000/.  per  an- 
num, or  equivalent  to  the  whole  amount  then  collected  in  govern- 
ment taxes  and  local  rates,  besides  giving  an  impetus  to  the  man- 
ufacturing prosperity  of  the  place,  which  has  continued  down  to 
the  present  day.  The  correct  and  scientific  principles  upon 
which  he  conducted  his  mining  operations  at  Snibston,  offered  a 
salutary  example  to  the  neighboring  colliery  owners.     The  nu- 


PROMOTES    LOCAL    IMPROVEMENTS.  333 

merous  improvements  which  he  introduced  were  freely  exhibited 
to  all,  find  thej  were  afterwards  reproduced  in  many  forms  all 
over  the  Midland  Counties,  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  the  min- 
ing interests. 

At  the  same  time  Mr.  Stephenson  endeavored  to  extend  the 
benefit  of  railways  throughout  the  district  in  which  he  now  re- 
sided.    He  suggested  to  Lord  Stamford  the  importance  of  con- 
structing a  branch  line  from  the   Leicester  and    Swannington 
Railway  through  his  property,  principally  for  the  purpose  of 
opening  out  his  fine  granite  quarries  at  Groby.     The  valuable 
advice  was  taken  by  Lord  Stamford,  and  Mr.  Stephenson  laid 
out  the  line  for  him  and  superintended  the  works  gratuitously. 
Another  improvement  which  he  effected  for  Lord  Talbot  proved 
of  even  greater  pecuniaiy  value.     He  contrived  for  his  lordship, 
with  no  slight  difficulty,  a  plan  for  "tubbing  off"  the  fresh  water 
from  the  salt  at  his  mines  near  Tamworth,  which  enabled  the 
salt  works  there  to  be  subsequently  carried  on  to  a  great  profit, 
which  had  not  before  been  practicable.     Mr.  Stephenson  was  less 
successful  in  his  endeavors  to  induce  the  late  Marquis  of  Hastings 
to  consent  to  the  Birmingham  and  Derby  Railway,  of  which  he 
was  the  engineer,  passing  through  the  mineral  district  of  Ashby- 
de-la-Zouche.     The  Marquis  was  the  principal  owner  of  the  col- 
liery property  in  the  neighborhood,  and  Mr.  Stephenson  calcu- 
lated upon  his  lordship's  influence  in  support  of  a  scheme  so 
certain  to   increase  the  value  of  his  estate.     But  the  marquis, 
like  many  others  of  his  class,  did  not  yet  detect  the  great  advant- 
ages of  railways,  and  he  threatened  his  determined  opposition  if 
the  Derby  line  were  attempted  to  be  brought  through  his  coal- 
field.    The  line  was  consequently  taken  further  to  the  west,  by 
way  of  Burton ;  and  thus  Ashby  for  a  time  lost  the  benefits  of 
railway  communication.     Twenty  years  elapsed  before  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson's designs  for  its  accommodation  were  carried  into  effect. 
Nor  was  Mr.   Stephenson  less  attentive  to  the  comfort  and 
well-being  of  those  immediately  dependent  upon  him — the  work- 


834  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

people  of  the  Snibston  colliery  and  their  families.  Unlike  many 
of  those  large  employers  who  have  "sprung  from  the  ranks,"  he 
was  one  of  the  kindest  and  most  indulgent  of  masters.  He  would 
have  a  fair  day's  work  for  a  fair  day's  wages ;  but  he  never  for- 
got that  the  employer  had  his  duties  as  well  as  his  rights.  First 
of  all,  he  attended  to  the  proper  home  accommodation  of  his 
work-people.  He  erected  a  village  of  comfortable  cottages,  each 
provided  with  a  snug  little  garden.  He  was  also  instrumental 
in  erecting  a  church  adjacent  to  the  works,  as  well  as  church 
schools  for  the  education  of  the  colliers'  children ;  and  with  that 
broad  catholicity  of  sentiment  which  distinguished  him,  he  further 
provided  a  chapel  and  a  school-house  for  the  use  of  the  Dissent- 
ing portion  of  the  colliers  and  their  families — an  example  of 
benevolent  liberality  which  was  not  without  its  salutary  influence 
on  the  neighboring  employers. 

When  at  home,  in  the  intervals  of  his  now  extensive  business 
as  a  railway  engineer,  Mr.  Stephenson  delighted  to  snatch  an 
occasional  hour  to  indulge  his  love  of  rural  life.  When  he  could, 
he  went  bird-nesting  in  spring,  and  nutting  in  autumn ;  occasion- 
ally he  did  a  little  gardening,  or  took  a  rural  ride  on  his  favorite 
"  Bobby,"  now  growing  old.*  His  uniform  kindness  and  good 
temper,  and  his  communicative  intelligent  disposition,  made  him 
a  great  favorite  with  the  neighboring  farmers,  to  whom  he  would 
volunteer  much  valuable  advice  on  agricultural  operations,  drain- 
age, ploughing,  and  labor-saving  processes. 

Shortly  after  ]Mr.  Stephenson  had  settled  down  at  Alton 
Grange,  railway  projects  of  gi-eat  magnitude  began  to  spring  up 
all  over  England,  and  he  was  often  called  away  for  the  purpose 
of  making  surveys,  and  conferring  with  committees  of  directors 
as  to  their  parliamentary  procedure.  For  several  years  he  spent 
most  of  his  time  in  traveling  about  on  such  business,  besides  fre- 
quently going  down  to  Lancashire  to  watch  over  the  working  of 

*  "  Bobby  "  was  about  twenty  years  old  when  he  died,  in  18i5.    During  the  last  few 
years  of  his  life  he  was  a  pensioner,  living  in  clover  and  doing  no  work. 


HIS    BUSINESS    CORRESPONDENCE.  335 

the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line.  His  correspondence  increas- 
ed so  much  that  he  found  it  necessary  to  engage  a  private  secre- 
tary, who  accompanied  him  on  his  journeys.  He  was  himself 
exceedingly  averse  to  writing  letters.  The  comparatively  ad- 
vanced age  at  which  he  learnt  the  art  of  Avriting,  and  the  nature 
of  his  duties  while  engaged  at  the  Killingworth  colliery,  pre- 
cluded that  facility  in  correspondence  which  only  constant  prac- 
tice can  give.  He  possessed,  however,  great  facility  in  dictation, 
and  was  very  particular  and  precise  as  to  the  terms  in  which  his 
letters  must  be  written.  He  also  had  the  power  of  laboring  con- 
tinuously at  dictation  ;  the  gentleman  who  acted  as  his  secretary, 
in  the  year  1835,  stating  that  during  his  busy  season,  he  one  day 
dictated  not  fewer  than  thirty-seven  letters,  several  of  them  em- 
bodying the  results  of  much  close  thinking  and  calculation.  On 
another  occasion,  he  dictated  reports  and  letters  for  twelve  con- 
tinuous hours,  until  his  secretary  was  ready  to  drop  off  his  chair 
from  sheer  exhaustion,  and  at  length  he  pleaded  for  a  suspension 
of  the  labor.  This  great  mass  of  correspondence,  although 
closely  bearing  upon  the  subjects  under  discussion,  was  not,  how- 
ever, of  a  kind  to  supply  the  biographer  with  matter  for  quota- 
tion, or  to  give  that  insight  into  the  Hfe  and  character  of  the  writer 
which  the  letters  of  literary  men  so  often  furnish.  They  were, 
for  the  most  part,  letters  of  mere  business,  relating  to  works  in 
progress,  parliamentary  contests,  new  surveys,  estimates  of  cost, 
and  railway  policy — curt,  and  to  the  point ;  in  short,  the  letters 
of  a  man,  every  moment  of  whose  time  was  precious. 

Hence,  also,  there  is  very  little  record  of  Mr.  Stephenson's 
private  life  during  this  busy  period.  For  he  had  scarcely  a  mo- 
ment that  he  could  call  his  own.  What  with  the  business  of  his 
colliery,  his  locomotive  manufactory,  and  the  various  railways  of 
which  he  was  the  principal  engineer,  there  was  little  time  left 
for  private  intercourse.  During  the  three  years  ending  in  1837 
— perhaps  the  busiest  years  of  his  life  —  his  secretary  traveled 
with  him  by  post-chaise  alone  upwards  of  twenty  thousand  miles, 


336  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

and  yet  six  months  of  the  whole  time  were  spent  in  London. 
During  this  period,  he  was  engaged  in  the  survey  of  the  North 
Midland,  extending  from  Derby  to  Leeds ;  the  York  and  North 
Midland,  from  Normanton  to  York ;  the  Manchester  and  Leeds ; 
the  Birmingham  and  Derby,  and  the  Sheffield  and  Rotherham 
Railways ;  the  whole  of  these,  of  which  he  was  principal  engi- 
neer, having  been  authorized  in  183G.  Fortunately,  Mr.  Stephen- 
son i^ossessed  a  facility  of  sleeping,  which  enabled  him  to  pass 
through  this  enormous  amount  of  fatigue  and  labor  without  in- 
jury to  his  health.  Pie  had  been  trained  in  a  hard  school,  and 
could  bear  with  ease  conditions  which,  to  men  more  softly  nur- 
tured, would  have  been  the  extreme  of  physical  discomfort. 
Many,  many  nights  he  snatched  his  sleep  while  traveling  in  his 
chaise ;  and  at  break  of  day  he  would  be  at  work,  surveying 
until  dark,  and  this  for  weeks  in  succession.  His  Avhole  powers 
seemed  to  be  under  the  control  of  his  will,  for  he  could  wake  at 
any  hour,  and  go  to  work  at  once.  It  was  difficult  for  secretaries 
and  assistants  to  keep  up  with  such  a  man. 

As  an  example  of  the  nature  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  labors  about 
this  period,  we  give  the  following  epitome  of  two  of  his  journeys, 
upon  which  he  entered  immediately  after  the  conclusion  of  the 
lieavy  pai'liamentary  session  of  1836  : 

First  Journey.  August  4th. — Traveled  from  Alton  Grange  to 
Burton,  and  on  to  the  Foxhall  summit  on  the  Birmingham  and 
Derby  Railway ;  then  to  Ingestre  Hall,  to  examine  Lord  Talbot's 
saltworks,  and  thence  to  Lichfield.  August  5th. — Lichfield  to 
Birmingham,  to  examine  the  ground  for  the  terminal  station  of 
the  Birmingham  and  Derby  Railway ;  then  on  to  Derby  with 
Mr.  Glynn  (director),  and  Mr.  Carter,  (solicitor.)  August  6tli. 
Engaged  at  Derby  all  day  with  the  corporation,  conferring  with 
them  as  to  the  site  of  the  station  for  the  Birmingham  and  Derby 
and  Midland  Railways ;  then  examining  the  Holmes,  and  jour- 
ney home  by  Burton. 

Second  Journey.     August  9th. — Alton   Grange  to  Derby  and 


HARD    WORK.  337 

Matlock ;  and  forward  by  mail  to  Manchester,  to  meet  the  com- 
mittee of  the  South  Union  Railway.  August  10th. — Manchester 
to  Stockport,  to  meet  committees  of  the  Manchester  and  Leeds 
Railway  ;  then  to  Livei'pool,  to  meet  directors  of  the  Chester  and 
Birkenhead,  and  Chester  and  Crewe  Railways.  August  11th. — 
Liverpool  to  AVoodside,  to  meet  committee  of  the  Chester  and 
Birkenhead  line ;  journey  with  them  along  the  proposed  railway 
to  Chester;  then  back  to  Liverpool.  August  12th. — Liverpool 
to  Manchester,  to  meet  directors  of  the  Manchester  and  Leeds 
railway,  and  traveling  with  them  over  the  works  then  in  progress. 
August  13th. — Continued  journey  over  the  works,  and  arrival 
at  Wakefield  ;  thence  to  York.  August  14th. — Meeting  with  ]Mr. 
Hudson  at  York,  and  journey  from  York  to  Newcastle.  August 
loth. — At  Newcastle,  working  up  arrears  of  correspondence. 
August  16th. — Meeting  with  ]Mr.  Brandling  as  to  the  station  for 
the  Brandling  Junction  at  Gateshead,  and  stations  at  other  parts 
of  the  line.  August  17th. — Newcastle  to  Carlisle,  to  inspect  the 
Mary  port  line.  August  18  th. — Carlisle  to  Wigton  and  Mary- 
port,  examining  the  railway.  August  19th. — Maiyport  to  Car- 
lisle, continuing  the  inspection.  August  20th. — At  Carlisle,  ex- 
amining the  ground  for  a  station  ;  and  working  up  correspondence. 
August  21st, — Carlisle  to  Dumfries  by  mail;  forward  to  Ayr  by 
chaise,  proceeding  up  the  valley  of  the  Nith,  through  Thomhill, 
Sanquhar  and  Cumnock.  August  2  2d. — Meeting  with  promo- 
ters of  the  Glasgow,  Kilmarnock  and  Ayr  railway,  and  journey 
along  the  proposed  line ;  meeting  with  the  magistrates  of  Kil- 
marnock at  Beith,  and  journey  with  them  over  Mr.  Gale's  pro- 
posed line  to  Kilmarnock.  August  23d. — From  Kilmarnock 
along  Mr.  Miller's  proposed  line,  to  Beith,  Paisley  and  Glasgow. 
August  24th. — Examination  of  site  of  proposed  station  at  Glas- 
gow ;  meeting  wdth  the  directors  ;  then  from  Glasgow,  by  Falkirk 
and  Linlithgow,  to  Edinburgh,  meeting  there  with  Mr.  Grainger, 
engineer,  and  several  of  the  committee  of  the  proposed  Edin- 
burgh and  Dunbar  Railway.  August  25th. — Examining  the  site 
22 


338  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

of  the  proposed  station  at  Edinburgh ;  then  to  Dunbar,  by  Por- 
tobello  and  Haddington,  examining  the  proposed  line  of  railway. 
August  26th. — Dunbar  to  Tommy  Grant's,  to  examine  the  sum- 
mit of  the  country  towards  Berwick,  with  a  view  to  a  through 
line  to  Newcastle ;  then  return  to  Edinburjirh.     August  27th. — 

'  CO 

At  Edinburgh,  meeting  the  provisional  committee  of  the  pro- 
posed Edinburgh  and  Dunbar  Railway.  August  28th. — Journey 
from  Edinburgh  through  INIelrose  and  Jedbui'gh  to  Horsley, 
along  the  route  of  Mr.  Richardson's  proposed  railway  across 
Carter  Fell.  August  29th. — From  Horsley  to  Mr.  Brandling's, 
then  on  to  Newcastle  ;  engaged  on  the  Brandling  Junction  Rail- 
way. August  30th. — Engaged  with  Mr.  Brandling ;  after  which, 
meeting  a  deputation  from  Maryport.  August  31. — Meeting 
with  Mr.  Brandling  and  others  as  to  the  direction  of  the  Brand- 
ling Junction  in  connection  with  the  Great  North  of  England 
line,  and  the  course  of  the  railway  through  Newcastle ;  then  on 
to  York.  September  1st. — At  York ;  meeting  Avith  York  and 
North  Midland  directors ;  then  journeying  over  Lord  Howden's 
property,  to  arrange  for  a  deviation  ;  examining  the  proposed  site 
of  the  station  at  York.  September  2d. — At  York,  giving  in- 
structions as  to  the  survey ;  then  to  Manchester,  by  Leeds. 
September  3d. — At  Manchester ;  journey  to  Stockport  Avith  Mr. 
Bidder  and  Mr.  Bourne,  examining  the  line  to  Stockport,  and 
fixing  the  crossing  of  the  river  there ;  attending  to  the  surveys ; 
then  journey  back  to  Manchester,  to  meet  the  directors  of  the 
Manchester  and  Leeds  Railway.  September  4th. — Sunday  at 
Manchester.  September  5th. — Journey  along  part  of  the  Man- 
chester and  Leeds  railway.  September  6th. — At  Manchester, 
examining  and  laying  doAvn  the  section  of  the  South  Union  line 
to  Stockport ;  afterwards  engaged  on  the  Manchester  and  Leeds 
Avorking  plans,  in  endeavoring  to  giA^e  a  greater  radius  to  the 
curves ;  seeing  Mr.  Seddon  about  the  Liverpool,  Manchester  and 
Leeds  Junction  Raihvay.  September  7th. — Journey  along  the 
Manchester  and  Leeds  line,  then  on  to  Derby.     September  8  th. 


EXTENSIVE   RAILWAY    INSPECTIONS.  339 

—  At  Derby ;  seeing  Mr.  Carter  and  Mr.  Beale  about  the  Tam- 
worth  deviation ;  then  home  to  Alton  Grange.     September  10th. 

—  At  Alton   Grange,  preparing  report  to  the  committee  of  the 
Edinburgh  and  Dunbar  Railway. 

Such  is  a  specimen  of  the  enormous  amount  of  physical  and 
mental  labor  undergone  by  Mr.  Stephenson  during  the  busy  years 
above  referred  to.  He  was  no  sooner  home,  than  he  was  called 
away  again  by  some  other  railway  or  business  engagement. 
Thus,  in  four  days  after  his  arrival  at  Alton  Grange  from  the 
above  journey  into  Scotland,  we  find  him  going  over  the  whole 
of  the  North  Midland  line  as  far  as  Leeds ;  then  by  Halifax  to 
Manchester,  where  he  stayed  for  several  days  on  the  business  of 
the  South  Union  line ;  then  to  Birmingham  and  London ;  back 
to  Alton  Grange,  and  next  day  to  Congleton  and  Leek ;  thence 
to  Leeds  and  Goole,  and  home  again  by  the  Sheffield  and  Roth- 
erham  and  the  Midland  works.  And  early  in  the  following  month 
(October)  he  was  engaged  in  the  north  of  L-eland,  examining 
the  line,  and  reporting  upon  the  plans,  of  the  projected  Ulster 
railway.  Then  he  was  called  upon  to  inspect  and  report  upon 
colliery  works,  salt  works,  brass  and  copper  works,  and  such  like, 
in  addition  to  his  own  colliery  and  railway  business.  He  usually 
also  staked  out  himself  the  lines  for  which  he  M^as  engineer,  and 
which  involved  a  good  deal  of  labor  since  undertaken  by  assist- 
ants. And  occasionally  he  would  run  up  to  London,  to  attend  in 
person  to  the  preparation  and  depositing  of  the  plans  and  sections 
of  the  projected  undertakings  for  which  he  was  engaged  as  en- 
gineer. 

It  is  pleasant  to  record  that,  in  the  midst  of  these  engrossing 
occupations,  his  heart  remained  as  soft  and  loving  as  ever.  Thus, 
during  one  of  his  brief  sojourns  at  Alton  Grange,  he  found  time 
to  wi'ite  to  his  son  a  touching  account  of  a  pair  of  robins  that  had 
built  their  nest  within  one  of  the  empty  upper  cliambers  of  the 
house.  One  day  he  observed  a  robin  fluttering  outside  the  win- 
dows, and  beating  its  wings  against  the  panes,  as  if  eager  to  gain 


340  LIFE  OF   GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

admission.  He  went  up  stairs,  and  there  found,  in  a  retired  part 
of  one  of  the  rooms,  a  robin's  nest,  with  one  of  the  parent  birds 
sitting  over  three  or  four  young — all  dead.  The  excluded  bird 
outside  still  beat  against  the  panes  ;  and  on  the  window-sill  being 
let  down,  it  flew  into  the  room,  but  so  exhausted  that  it  dropped 
upon  the  floor.  Mr.  Stephenson  took  up  the  bird,  carried  it  down 
stairs,  and  had  it  warmed  and  fed.  The  poor  robin  revived,  and 
for  a  time  was  one  of  his  pets.  But  it  shortly  died,  too,  as  if 
unable  to  recover  from  the  privations  it  had  endured  during  its 
three  days  fluttering  and  beating  at  the  windows.  It  appeared 
that  the  room  had  been  unoccupied,  and  the  window  having  been 
let  down  for  some  time,  the  robins  had  taken  the  opportunity  of 
building  their  nest  within  it ;  but  the  servant  having  accidentally 
closed  the  window,  the  calamity  befell  them  which  so  strongly 
excited  Mr,  Stephenson's  sympathies.  An  incident  such  as  this, 
trifling  though  it  may  seem,  gives  the  true  key  to  the  heart  of  the 
man. 

The  amount  of  his  parliamentary  business  having  greatly  in- 
creased with  the  projection  of  new  lines  of  railway,  Mr.  Stephen- 
son found  it  necessary  to  take  an  office  in  London  during  the 
session  of  1836.*  This  office  was  the  busy  scene  of  railway 
politics  for  many  years.  There  consultations  were  held,  schemes 
were  matured,  deputations  were  received,  and  many  projectors 
called  upon  our  engineer  for  the  purpose  of  submitting  their  plans 
of  railway  working.  But  Mr.  Stephenson's  principal  business 
was  in  carrying  through  the  projects  for  which  he  was  profes- 
sionally concerned  as  engineer-in-chief.  He  was  also  called  upon 
to  give  evidence  in  support  of  many  lines,  such  as  the  Great 
Western,  with  which  he  was  not  immediately  connected.  "  In 
fact,"  as  he  said  to  the  House  of  Commons'  Committee,  in  1841, 
"  there  is  hardly  a  railway  in  England  that  I  have  not  had  to  do 
with."     In  the  session  of  1836  alone,  powers  were  obtained  to 

*  His  first  ofiSce  was  at  No.  9  Duke  Street,  Westminster,  from  which  he  removed  to 
30>2  George  Street,  Westminster,  in  1837. 


RAPID    EXTENSION    OF   RAILWAYS.  341 

construct  214  miles  of"  new  railway  after  Mr.  Stephenson's  de- 
signs, at  an  expenditure  of  upwards  of  five  millions  sterling. 

Numerous  other  companies  obtained  their  acts  during  the  same 
session.  The  Midland  Counties  Act  authorized  the  formation  of 
a  line  from  Rugby  (on  the  London  and  Birmingham  line)  to 
Derby,  there  to  join  the  North  Midland,  which,  in  conjunction 
with  the  Great  North  of  England  Railway,  from  York  to  Dar- 
lington, and  the  Durham  Junction,  and  Branding  Junction, 
already  authorized,  would  complete  the  line  of  railway  commu- 
nication from  London  to  Newcastle.  At  the  same  time,  powers 
had  been  obtained  to  construct  lines  from  London  to  Bristol,  to 
Southampton,  to  Dover,  and  to  Colchester ;  so  that  already  meas- 
ures had  been  adopted  to  place  the  metropolis  in  direct  commu- 
nication with  the  most  important  districts  of  the  kingdom. 

The  rapidity  with  which  railways  were  carried  out,  when  the 
spirit  of  the  country  was  fairly  up,  was  indeed  remarkable.  This 
was,  doubtless,  in  some  measure  owing  to  the  increased  force  of 
the  current  of  speculation,  but  chiefly  to  the  desire  which  the 
public  now  entertained  for  the  general  extension  of  the  system. 
Railways  became  the  topic  of  conversation  in  all  circles ;  they 
were  felt  to  give  a  new  value  to  time ;  their  vast  capabilities  for 
"  business  "  peculiarly  recommended  them  to  the  trading  classes  ; 
whilst  the  friends  of  "  progress "  dilated  on  the  great  benefits 
they  would  eventually  confer  upon  mankind  at  large.  It  began 
to  be  seen  that  Mr.  Edward  Pease  had  not  been  exaggerating 
when  he  said,  "  Let  the  country  but  make  the  railroads,  and  the 
railroads  will  make  the  country ! "  They  also  came  to  be  regard- 
ed as  inviting  objects  of  investment  to  the  thrifty,  and  a  safe  out- 
let for  the  accumulations  of  inert  men  of  capital.  Thus  new 
avenues  of  iron  road  Avere  soon  in  course  of  construction  in  all 
directions,  branching  north,  south,  east,  and  west,  so  that  the 
country  promised  in  a  wonderfully  short  space  of  time  to  become 
wrapped  in  one  vast  network  of  iron. 

Although  occasionally  employed  to  survey  lines  and  give  evi- 


342  LIFE   OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

dence  in  favor  of  railways  projected  in  the  south  of  England, 
Mr.  Stephenson's  principal  attention  was  directed  to  the  devel- 
opment of  the  system  in  the  northern  counties,  leaving  the  south 
to  the  energy  of  his  son.  Besides  the  Grand  Junction,  he  was, 
shortly  after  the  completion  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester 
line,  engaged  in  surveying  and  laying  out  a  railway  from  Man- 
chester to  Leeds,  with  the  object  of  forming  a  connection  between 
the  principal  towns  of  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire.  An  attempt 
had  been  made  to  obtain  an  act  for  this  purpose  as  early  as  the 
year  1831  ;  but  having  been  met  by  the  powerful  opposition  of 
the  land  owners,  aided  by  the  canal  companies,  it  was  defeated, 
and  was  not  revived  until  several  years  later.  Mr.  Stephenson, 
however,  having  carefully  examined  the  entii'e  district,  had  al- 
ready determined  in  his  own  mind  the  route  of  the  Manchester 
and  Leeds  line,  and  decided  that  no  other  was  practicable,  with- 
out the  objectionable  expedient  of  a  tunnel  tlu-ee  and  a  half  miles 
in  length  under  Blackstone  Edge,  and  the  additional  disadvantage 
of  heavy  gradients.  This  line,  as  projected  by  him,  and  after- 
wards considerably  improved,  was  somewhat  circuitous,  and  the 
works  were  heavy ;  but  on  the  whole  the  gradients  were  favorable, 
and  it  had  the  advantage  of  passing  through  a  district  full  of 
manufacturing  towns  and  villages,  the  teeming  hives  of  popula- 
lation,  industry  and  enterprise.  The  act  authoi'izing  the  con- 
struction of  the  railway,  was  finally  obtained  in  the  session  of 
183G:  it  was  greatly  amended  in  the  succeeding  year ;  and  the 
first  ground  was  broken  on  the  18th  of  August,  1837. 

An  incident  occurred  while  the  second  Manchester  and  Leeds 
bill  was  before  the  Committee  of  the  Lords,  which  is  worthy  of 
passing  notice  in  this  place,  as  illustrative  of  Mr.  Stephenson's 
character.  The  line  which  was  authorized  by  Parliament  in 
183G,  had  been  hastily  surveyed  within  a  period  of  less  than  six 
Aveeks ;  and  before  it  received  the  Royal  assent,  Mr.  Stephenson 
became  convinced  that  many  important  improvements  might  be 
made  in  it,  and  conmauuicated  his  views  to  the  directors.     They 


MANCHESTER   AND    LEEDS    LINE.  343 

cletermined,  however,  to  obtain  the  act,  although  conscious  at  the 
time  that  they  Avould  have  to  go  foi'  a  second  and  improved  line 
in  the  following  year.     Tlie  second  bill  passed  the  Commons  in 
1837,  without  difficulty,  and  promised  in  like  manner  to  receive 
the  sanction  of  the  Lords'  Committee.    Quite  unexiicctedly,  how- 
ever, Lord  WharnclifFe,  who  was  interested  in  the  Manchester 
and  Sheffield  line,  which  passed  through  his  colliery  property,  in 
the  South  of  Yorkshire,  and  conceived  that  the  new  Manchester 
and  Leeds  line  might  have  some  damaging  effect,  appeared  as  a 
strenuous  opponent  of  the  bill.    He  was  himself  a  member  of  the 
Committee,  and  adopted  the  unusual  course  of  rising  to  his  feet, 
and  making  a  set  speech  against  the  bill,  while  Mr.  Stephenson 
was  under  examination.     After  pointing  out  that  the  bill  applied 
for  and  obtained  in  the  preceding  session  was  one  that  the  pro- 
moters had  no  intention  of  carrying  out,  that  they  had  secured  it 
only  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  possession  of  the  ground,  and 
reducing  the  number  of  the  opponents  to  their  present  application, 
and  that  in  fact  they  had  been   practicing  a  deception  upon  the 
House,  his  lordship  turned  full  upon  the  witness,  and  addressing 
him,  said :    "  I  ask  you,  sir,  do  you  call  that  conduct  honest  ?  " 
Mr.  Stephenson,  his  voice  trembling  with  emotion,  replied  :  "  Yes, 
my  lord,  I  do  call  it  honest.    And  I  Avill  ask  your  lordship,  whom 
I  served  for  many  years  as  your  enginewright  at  the  Killingworth 
collieries,  when  did  you  ever  know  me  to  do  any  thing  that  was 
not  honest  and  honorable  ?     You  know  what  the  collieries  were 
when  I  went  there,  and  you  know  what  they  were  when  I  left 
them.     Did  you  ever  hear  that  1  was  found  wanting  when  honest 
services  were  wanted,  or  when  duty  called  me  ?     Let  your  lord- 
ship but  fairly  consider  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  I  feel 
persuaded  you  will  admit  that  my  conduct  has  been  equally  hon- 
est throughout  in  this  matter."    He  then  briefly  but  clearl}'  stated 
the  history  of  the  application  to  Parliament  for  the  act,  which 
was  so  satisfactory  to  the  Committee  that  they  passed  the  pream- 
ble of  the    bill    without    further    objection.     Lord  Wharncliffe 


844  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

requested  that  the  Committee  would  permit  his  observations, 
together  with  Mr.  Stephenson's  reply,  to  be  erased  from  the  rec- 
ord of  the  evidence,  which,  as  an  acknowledgment  of  his  error, 
was  permitted;  Lord  Kenyon  and  several  other  members  of  the 
Committee,  afterwards  came  up  to  Mr.  Stephenson,  shook  him 
by  the  hand,  and  congratulated  him  on  the  manly  way  in  which 
he  had  vindicated  himself  in  the  course  of  the  inquiry. 

In  conducting  this  project  to  a  successful  issue,  Mr.  Stephen- 
son had  much  opposition  and  many  strong  prejudices  to  encounter. 
Predictions  were  confidently  made  in  many  quarters,  that  the 
line  could  never  succeed.  It  was  declared,  that  the  utmost 
engineering  skill  could  not  construct  a  railway  through  such  a 
country  of  hills  and  hard  rocks  ;  and  it  was  maintained  that,  even 
if  the  railway  were  practicable,  it  could  only  be  formed  at  so 
enormous  a  cost  as  to  prevent  it  from  ever  remunerating  the 
proprietors. 

The  croaking  of  all  the  prophets  ©f  evil  and  disaster  reached 
its  height  in  December,  1840,  as  the  Summit  Tunnel,  near  Lit- 
tleborough,  was  fast  approaching  completion,  when  the  alarming 
rumor  was  spread  abroad  in  Manchester  that  the  tunnel  had 
fallen  in  and  buried  a  number  of  workmen  in  the  ruins.  The 
last  arch  had  been  keyed  in,  and  the  work  was  all  but  finished, 
when  the  accident  occurred  which  was  thus  exaggerated  by  the 
lying  tongue  of  rumor.  An  invert  had  given  way  through  the 
irregular  pressure  of  the  surrounding  earth  and  rock  at  a  part  of 
the  tunnel  where  a  "fault"  had  occurred  in  the  strata.  A  party 
of  the  directors  accompanied  the  engineer  to  inspect  the  scene  of 
the  accident.  They  entered  the  tunnel's  mouth  preceded  by 
upwards  of  fifty  navvies,  each  bearing  a  torch.  This  extraor- 
dinary subterranean  viaduct  had  occupied  the  labors  of  above  a 
thousand  men  during  nearly  four  years.  Besides  excavating  the 
arch  out  of  the  solid  rock,  they  had  used  23,000,000  of  bricks, 
and  8000  tons  of  Roman  cement.  Thirteen  stationary  engines, 
and  about  100  horses,  had  also  been  employed  in  drawing  the 


ACCIDENT    TO    LITTLEBOROUGH    TUNNEL.  345 

earth  and  stone  out  of  the  shafts.  The  entire  length  of  the  tnnnel 
was  2869  yards,  or  nearly  a  mile  and  three-quarters — exceeding 
the  famous  Kilsby  Tunnel  by  471  yards. 

After  walking  a  distance  of  about  half  a  mile,  the  inspecting 
party  arrived  at  the  scene  of  the  "  frightful  accident,"  about  which 
so  much  alarm  had  been  spread  in  Manchester.     All  that  was 
visible  was  a  certain  unevenness  of  the  ground,  which  had  been 
forced  up  by  the  invert  under  it  giving  way ;  thus  the  ballast  had 
been  loosened,  the  drain  running  along  the  centre  of  the  road  had 
been  displaced,  and  small  pools  of  water  stood  about.     But  the 
whole  of  the  walls  and  the  roof  were  as  perfect  there  as  in  any 
other  part  of  the  tunnel.     Mr.  Stephenson  explained  the  cause 
of  the  accident:    The  blue  shale,  he  said,  through  which  the 
excavation  passed  at  that  point,  was  considered  so  hard  and  firm, 
as  to  render  it  unnecessary  to  build  the  invert  very  strong  there. 
But  shale  is  always   a  deceptive   material.     Subjected   to  the 
influence  of  the  atmosphere,  it  gives  but  a  treacherous  support. 
In  this  case,  falling  away  like  quicklime,  it  had  left  the  lip  of  the 
invert  alone  to  support  the  pressure  of  the  arch  above,  and  hence 
its  springing  inwards  and  upwards.    Mr.  Stephenson  directed  the 
attention  of  the  visitors  to  the  completeness  of  the  arch  overhead, 
where  not  the  slightest  fracture  or  yielding  could  be  detected. 
Speaking  of  the  work,  in  the  course  of  the  same  day,  he  said,  "  I 
will  stake  my  character,  my  head,  if  that  tunnel  ever  gives  way, 
so  as  to  cause  danger  to  any  of  the  public  passing  through  it. 
The  fracture  that  has  taken  place  must,  doubtless,  be  a  disap- 
pointment to  the  directors,  by  delaying  the  opening  of  the  line ; 
but  the  fact  is,  that  the  invert  is  covered  with   material,  so  that 
we  could  not  find  it  out  till  that  material  was  taken  away,  so  as 
to  make  the  culvert  through  to  carry  the  water  from  end  to  end ; 
but  I  believe  that  if  the  invert  were  taken  away  altogether,  the 
tunnel  would  stand  firm.     It  is  a  question  now  with  me,  whether 
we  ought  to  put  the  invert  in  again,  or  to  strengthen  the  foot  of 
the  side  walls.     However,  it  being  a  work  of  such  magnitude,  it 


346  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

is  perhaps  safer  to  take  a  little  more  time  to  it,  and  make  it 
perfect.  Witli  respect  to  the  tunnel,  taking  it  as  a  whole,  I  don't 
think  there  is  such  another  piece  of  work  in  the  world.  It  is  the 
greatest  work  that  has  yet  been  done  of  this  kind,  and  there  has 
been  less  repairing  than  is  usual.  Indeed,  no  tunnel  of  such 
magnitude  have  I  known  with  so  little  re-doing  of  the  work.  It 
is  a  great  work — though  one  where  an  engineer  might  be  beaten 
in  his  calculations,  for  he  cannot  befoi'ehand  see  into  those  little 
fractured  parts  of  the  earth  he  may  meet  with.  This  is  a  dislo- 
cated part  of  a  very  high  country,  where  the  debris  has  come  off 
at  a  time  and  in  a  place  where  we  could  have  no  chance  of 
examining  it,  except  by  excavation.  But  this  is  the  only  weak 
part  we  have  met  with.  It  runs  diagonally  across  the  tunnel. 
It  begins  at  one  end  of  the  fractured  part  and  runs  to  its  other 
end.  It  is  a  part  that  has  chipped  off  from  its  neighbors,  and 
not  being  so  firmly  fixed  as  the  adjoining  rocks  on  each  side, 
when  we  took  off  the  bottom  it  eased  a  little,  and  that  has  been 
the  cause  of  the  upper  part  throwing  a  little  more  pressure  upon 
the  invert."  As  Mr.  Stephenson  had  promised,  the  invert  was 
put  in  ;  the  tunnel  was  made  perfectly  safe ;  and  the  traffic  began 
to  be  carried  over  the  entire  length  of  the  line  early  in  the  year 
1841,  and  has  continued  without  interruption  ever  since. 

In  1838,  Mr.  Stephenson  was  acting  as  engineer  for  the  Black- 
wall  Railway,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Bidder.  In  their  united 
report  of  that  year  avc  find  them  recommending  stationary  engines 
for  the  working  of  that  line,  as  being  the  more  safe  and  econom- 
ical, principally  on  the  ground  of  the  sharpness  of  the  curves,  the 
steepness  of  the  gi-adients,  and  the  shortness  of  the  railway. 
Subsequent  experience,  however,  of  the  powers  of  the  locomotive, 
and  of  its  economy  in  working  as  compared  with  fixed  engines, 
induced  the  eventual  abandonment  of  the  latter  power  in  favor 
of  the  former.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  Mr.  Stephenson,  who 
was  always  ready  to  adopt  improved  modes  of  working  railways, 
employed  the  electric  telegraph  at  a  very  early  period  to  regulate 


THE   NORTH   MIDLAND    RAIL\YAT.  347 

the  working  of  that  line ;  indeed,  he  was  one  of  the  first  of  the 
railway  engineers  wlio  recognized  its  advantages  for  this  purpose. 

The  North  Midland  Railway  was  a  favorite  line  of  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson's for  many  reasons.  Its  works  were  of  a  formidable 
character ;  it  passed  through  a  rich  mining  district,  in  which  it 
opened  up  many  valuable  coal-fields,  and  it  formed  part  of  the 
great  main  line  of  communication  between  London  and  Edin- 
burgh, on  the  completion  of  which,  by  the  East  Coast  line  through 
Newcastle,  Mr.  Stephenson  had  anxiously  set  his  heart.  The 
North  Midland  Railway  was  originally  projected  by  gentlemen 
interested  in  the  London  and  Birmingham  line.  The  intention 
was  to  carry  the  latter  railway  from  Rugby  to  Leeds ;  but,  finding 
themselves  anticipated  in  part  by  the  projection  of  the  Midland 
Counties  line  from  Rugby  to  Derby,  they  confined  themselves  to 
the  district  between  Derby  and  Leeds.  The  projectors  appointed 
Mr.  Stephenson  to  examine  the  country,  and  lay  out  the  best  line  ; 
and  after  a  careful  and  laborious  investigation,  in  which  he  was 
ably  assisted  by  his  pupil  Mr.  Swanwick,  he  reported  the  result 
to  a  public  meeting  held  at  Leeds,  in  September,  1835 ;  and  the 
result  was  the  approval  of  the  line  as  laid  out  by  him.  A  sub- 
scription list  was  at  once  opened,  and  Mr.  John  Marshall,  one  of 
the  most  public-spirited  and  influential  manufacturers  of  Leeds, 
having  put  his  name  down  for  35,000/.,  the  shares  were  soon 
taken,  and  the  project  was  fairly  launched.  The  act  w'as  obtained 
in  1836,  and  the  first  ground  was  broken  in  February,  1837. 
The  execution  of  the  works  extended  over  a  period  of  above  three 
years,  and  the  line  was  opened  throughout  in  July,  1840. 

Although  the  North  Midland  Railway  was  only  one  of  the 
many  great  works  of  the  same  kind  executed  at  that  time,  it  was 
enough  of  itself  to  be  the  achievement  of  a  life.  Compai'e  it,  for 
example,  with  Napoleon's  much-vaunted  military  road  over  the 
Simplon,  and  it  will  at  once  be  seen  how  greatly  it  excels  that 
work,  not  only  in  the  constructive  skill  displayed  in  it,  but  also 
in  its  cost  and  magnitude,  and  the  amount  of  labor  employed  in 


348  LIFE   OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSOX. 

its  formation.  The  road  of  the  Simplon  is  45  miles  in  length ; 
the  North  Midland  Railway  72^  miles.  The  former  has  50 
bridges  and  5  tunnels,  measuring  together  1,338  feet  in  length; 
the  latter  has  200  bridges  and  7  tunnels,  measuring  together 
11,400  feet,  or  about  2^  miles.  The  former  cost  about  720.000/. 
sterling,  the  latter  above  3,000,000/.  Napoleon's  grand  military 
road  was  constructed  in  six  years,  at  the  public  cost  of  the  two 
great  kingdoms  of  France  and  Italy ;  while  Stephenson's  much 
more  magnificent  railway  was  formed  in  about  three  years,  by  a 
company  of  private  merchants  and  capitalists  out  of  their  own 
funds,  and  under  their  own  superintendence.*  And  if  the  name 
of  the  Chevalier  Fabbroni  has  been  honored  for  the  design  and 
construction  of  the  military  road  across  the  Simplon,  how  much 
higher  ought  the  name  of  George  Stephenson  to  rank  as  the 
engineer  and  architect  of  the  North  Midland,  the  Manchester  and 
Leeds,  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester,  and  many  other  equally 
gigantic  works  of  great  public  utility ! 

Mr.  Stephenson's  strong  sagacity,  assisted  by  the  experience 
he  had  gained  in  the  northern  coal  districts,  early  detected  the 
importance  of  the  Midland  Railway  as  opening  up  new  markets 
for  the  vend  of  coal  which  abounded  in  the  district  through  which 
it  passed.  At  a  time  when  everybody  else  was  skei)tical  as  to 
the  possibility  of  coals  being  carried  from  the  midland  counties, 
and  sold  in  London  at  a  price  to  compete  with  sea-borne  coals, 
he  declared  his  firm  conviction  that  the  time  was  fast  approaching 
when  the  London  market  would  be  regularly  supplied  with  north- 
country  coals  led  by  railway.  One  of  the  greatest  advantages 
of  railways,  in  his  opinion,  was  that  they  would  bring  coal  and 
iron,  the  staple  products  of  the  country,  to  the  doors  of  all 
England.  "The  strength  of  Britain,"  he  would  say,  "lies  in 
her  coal-beds ;  and  the  locomotive  is  destined,  above  all  other 

*  The  number  of  men  employed  on  the  line,  while  the  works  were  in  full  operation, 
was  between  9000  and  10,000,  assisted  by  eighteen  stationary  and  several  locomotiTe 
engines.    The  quantity  of  earthwork  on  the  line  amounted  to  9,500,000  cubic  yards. 


ANTICIPATIONS    AS    TO    THE    COAL    TRAFFIC.  349 

agencies,  to  bring  it  forth.  The  Lord  Chancellor  now  sits  upon 
a  bag  of  wool ;  but  avooI  has  long  ceased  to  be  emblematical  of 
the  staple  commodity  of  England.  He  ought  rather  to  sit  upon 
a  bag  of  coals,  though  it  might  not  prove  quite  so  comfortable  a 
seat.  Then  think  of  the  Lord  Chancellor  being  addressed  as  the 
noble  and  learned  lord  on  the  coal-sack  !  I  am  afraid  it  wouldn't 
answer,  after  all." 

To  one  gentleman  he  said :  "  "We  want  from  the  coal-mining, 
the  iron-producing,  and  manufacturing  districts,  a  great  railway 
for  the  carriage  of  these  valuable  products.  We  want,  if  I  may 
so  say,  a  stream  of  steam  running  directly  through  the  country, 
from  the  North  to  London,  and  from  other  similar  districts  to 
London  ;  speed  is  not  so  much  an  object  as  utility  and  cheapness." 
And  at  a  meeting  of  railway  proprietors  at  York,  in  1840,  he  told 
them  "  there  was  little  doubt  in  his  mind  that  coals  would  in  a 
very  short  time  be  supplied  to  the  London  market  from  that 
county  by  means  of  their  line."  *  He  proved  his  conviction  by 
acting  upon  it,  taking  a  lease  of  the  Clay  Cross  Colliery,  in  antic- 
ipation of  the  demand  for  railway-led  coals.  Li  this,  as  in  some 
other  matters,  ^Ix.  Stephenson  was  rather  ahead  of  his  time ;  and 
though  the  Clay  Cx'oss  Colliery  did  not  prove  a  very  successful 
venture,  and  he  did  not  live  to  see  his  anticipations  as  to  the 
supply  of  the  London  coal  market  fully  realized,  yet  he  was  the 
first  to  point  out,  and,  to  some  extent,  to  prove  the  practicability 
of  establishing  a  profitable  coal  trade  by  railway  between  the 
northern  counties  and  the  metropolis.  Since  his  time,  his  predic- 
tion has  to  a  great  extent  been  fulfilled,  both  on  the  Midland  and 
the  Great  Northern  Railways.  The  quantity  of  coal  brought  by 
railways  to  London,  in  1855,  from  the  Durham,  Yorkshire,  and 
other  northern  collieries,  amounting  to  upwards  of  a  million  of 
tons.  The  Great  Northern  carried  547,602 ;  the  Midland  and 
Northwestern,  339,656  ;  the  Eastern  Counties,  145,327;  and  the 
Great  Western,  80,950  tons. 

*  Meeting  of  the  York  and  North  Midland  Company,  19th  July,  1840. 


350  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

About  the  same  time  that  Mr.  Stephenson  entered  upon  his 
lease  of  the  colliery  at  Clay  Cross,  he  took  up  his  abode  at  Tapton 
House,  near  Cliesterfield,  which  continued  his  home  until  the 
close  of  his  life.  It  was  a  central  point  on  the  Midland  Railway, 
from  which  he  could  proceed  north,  south,  and  west,  in  his  super- 
intendence of  the  four  important  lines  which  wei'e  in  progress  of 
construction  at  the  same  time — the  Midland,  the  York  and  North 
Midland,  the  Birmingham  and  Derby,  and  the  Manchester  and 
Leeds  Railways. 

Tlie  York  and  North  Midland  line  extended  from  Normanton 
— a  point  on  the  Midland  Railway — to  York ;  it  was  a  line  of 
easy  formation,  traversing  a  comparatively  level  country.  The 
inhabitants  of  Whitby,  as  well  as  York,  were  busy  projecting 
railways  as  early  as  1832;  and  in  the  year  following,  Whitby 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  horse  line  of  twenty-four  miles,  connect- 
ing it  with  the  small  market  town  of  Pickerino:.  The  York 
citizens  were  more  ambitious,  and  agitated  the  question  of  a  loco- 
motive line  to  connect  them  with  the  town  of  Leeds.  A  company 
was  formed  in  1833,  and  Mr.  George  Rennie  was  called  upon  to 
survey  the  line.  About  the  same  time,  however,  other  engineers 
—  Mr.  Walker,  Mr.  Cundy,  and  Mr.  Gibbs  —  were  severally 
engaged  in  getting  up  the  surveys  of  a  direct  main  line  from 
London  to  York.  The  local  committee  were  perplexed  by  the 
conflicting  views  of  the  engineers,  and  at  length  called  to  their 
assistance  Mr.  George  Stephenson,  who  had  already  been  con- 
sulted by  the  provisional  committee  of  the  Midland  Company  as 
to  the  best  line  from  Derby  to  Leeds.  He  recommended  the 
York  gentlemen  to  adopt  their  railway  to  that  proposed  line  of 
communication,  and  they  embraced  his  views.  The  company 
was  formed,  the  shares  were  at  once  subscribed  for,  and  Mr. 
Stephenson  appointed  his  pupil  and  assistant,  Mr.  Swanwick,  to 
lay  out  the  line  in  October,  1835.  The  act  was  obtained  in  the 
following  year,  and  the  works  were  constructed  without  any 
difficulty  under  the  superintendence  of  Ush:  Cabrey,  another  of 


YORK   AND    NORTH   MIDLAND    LINE.  351 

Mr.  Stephenson's  pupils  and  assistants,  brought  up  under  his  own 
eyes  in  the  KilHngvvorth  workshops. 

As  the  best  proof  of  his  conviction  tliat  the  York  and  North 
Midland  would  prove  a  good  investment,  Mr.  Stephenson  invested 
in  it  a  considerable  portion  of  his  savings,  being  a  subscriber  for 
420  shares ;  and  he  also  took  some  trouble  in  persuading  several 
wealthy  gentlemen  in  London  and  elsewhere  to  purchase  shares 
in  tlie  concern.  The  interest  thus  taken  in  tlie  line  by  the 
engineer  was  on  more  than  one  occasion  specially  mentioned  by 
Mr.  Hudson,  then  Lord  Mayor  of  York,  as  an  inducement  to 
other  persons  of  capital  to  join  the  undertaking  ;  and  had  it  not 
afterwards  been  encumbered  and  ovei'laid  by  comparatively  use- 
less, and  therefore  profitless  branches,  in  the  projection  of  which 
Mr.  Stephenson  had  no  part,  the  sanguine  expectations  which  he 
early  formed  of  the  paying  qualities  of  the  line  would  have  been 
even  more  than  realized. 

There  was  one  branch,  however,  of  the  York  and  North  Mid- 
land line  in  which  he  took  an  anxious  interest,  and  of  which  he 
may  be  pronounced  the  projector — the  branch  to  Scarborough ; 
wliich  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  pi'ofitable  parts  of  the  rail- 
way. He  was  so  satisfied  of  its  value,  that,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
York  and  North  IMidland  proprietors,*  he  volunteered  his  gi'a- 
tuitous  services  as  engineer  until  the  company  was  formed,  in 
addition  to  subscribing  largely  to  the  undertaking.  At  that 
meeting  he  took  an  opportunity  of  referring  to  the  charges 
brought  against  engineers  of  so  greatly  exceeding  the  estimates : 
"  He  had  had  a  good  deal  to  do  Avith  making  out  the  estimates 
of  the  North  INIidland  Railway,  and  he  believed  there  never  was 
a  more  honest  one.  He  had  always  endeavored  to  state  the 
truth  as  far  as  was  in  his  power.  He  had  known  a  director  who, 
when  he  (Mr.  Stephenson)  had  sent  in  an  estimate,  came  forward 
and  said,  '  I  can  do  it  for  half  the  money.'  The  director's  esti- 
mate went  into  Parliament,  but  it  came  out  his.     He  could  go 

*  Held  at  York  in  July,  1840. 


352  LIFE   OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

thi-ou"h  the  whole  list  of  the  undertakings  in  which  he  had  been 
engaged,  and  show  that  he  had  never  had  any  thing  to  do  with 
stock-jobbing  concerns.  He  would  say  that  he  would  not  be 
concerned  in  any  scheme,  unless  he  was  satisfied  that  it  would 
pay  the  proprietors ;  and  in  bringing  forward  the  proposed  line 
to  Scarborough,  he  was  satisfied  that  it  would  pay,  or  he  would 
have  had  nothing  to  do  with  it." 

About  this  time,  numerous  lines,  constructed  under  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson's direction,  were  completed  and  opened  for  public  traffic. 
The  Sheffield  and  Rotherham  Railway  was  opened  on  the  1st  of 
November,  1838  ;  the  Birmingham  and  Derby  in  August,  1839, 
having  been  constructed  in  about  two  years,  within  the  parlia- 
mentary estimates  ;  and  in  the  course  of  the  year  1840,  the  Mid- 
land, the  York  and  North  Midland,  the  Chester  and  Crewe,  the 
Chester  and  Birkenhead,*  the  Manchester  and  Birmingham,  the 
Manchester  and  Leeds,  and  the  Maryport  and  Carlisle  Railways, 
were  all  publicly  opened  in  whole  or  in  part.  Thus  321  miles 
of  railway  constructed  under  Mr.  Stephenson's  superintendence, 
at  a  cost  of  upwards  of  eleven  millions  sterling,  were,  in  the 

*  At  a  meeting  of  the  Chester  and  Birkenhead  Company,  held  at  Liverpool  in  October, 
1845,  the  following  circumstance,  highly  honorable  to  Mr.  Stephenson,  was  related  by  W. 
Jackson,  Esq.,  the  chairman  of  the  Company  :  '•  AVhen  this  railway  was  first  projected, 
or  rather  when  a  railway  was  first  projected  between  Chester  and  Birkenhead,  the  Com- 
pany failed  in  their  efforts  to  get  a  bill.  Mr.  George  Stephenson  was  the  engineer.  When 
the  second  measure  was  taken  up,  he  was  also  the  Company's  engineer,  as  it  was  under- 
stood that  the  same  engineer  and  the  same  surveyors  should  be  employed,  and  that  in 
the  event  of  the  bill  being  carried,  they  should  receive  their  costs  for  the  defeated  meas- 
ure. To  several  parties,  their  costs  were  paid.  Mr.  George  Stephenson's  amounted  to 
800/.,  and  he  very  nobly  said  :  ''  You  have  had  an  expensive  career  in  Parliament ;  you 
have  had  a  great  struggle ;  you  are  a  young  Company  ;  you  cannot  afford  to  pay  me  this 
amount  of  money  ;  I  will  reduce  it  to  200/.,  and  I  will  not  ask  you  for  that  200/.  until 
your  shares  are  at  20/.  premium  :  for,  whatever  may  be  the  reverses  you  will  go  through, 
I  am  satisfied  I  shall  live  to  see  the  day  when  I  can  legally  and  honorably  claim  that  200/. 
■when  your  .shares  will  be  at  20/.  premium."  The  time  had  now  arrived  wheii  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson's foreboding  proved  true.  The  shares  were  selling  at  CO  in  the  market,  and  the 
new  ones  were  at  a  high  premium,  and  he  (the  chairman)  thought,  that  in  asking  for  a 
vote  of  500/.  for  conduct  so  noble,  he  w.as  asking  only  for  what  was  amply  due.  He  left 
the  matter  in  the  hands  of  the  proprietors.  The  proprietors  immediately  voted  the  full 
amount  of  800/.  stated  by  the  chairman  :is  due  to  Mr.  Stephenson. 


SPEECH    AT   A    PUBLIC    DINNER.  353 

course  of  about  two  years,  added  to  the  traffic  accommodation  of 
the  country. 

The  ceremonies  which  accompanied  the  public  opening  of  these 
lines  were  often  of  an  interesting  character.  The  adjoining  pop- 
ulation held  general  holiday ;  bands  played,  banners  waved,  and 
assembled  thousands  cheered  the  passing  trains  amidst  the  occa- 
sional booming  of  cannon.  The  proceedings  were  usually  wound 
up  by  a  public  dinner ;  and  on  such  occasions,  ]\Ir.  Stephenson 
would  often  revert  to  his  favorite  topic — the  difficulties  which  he 
had  early  encountered  in  the  establishment  of  the  railway  system, 
and  in  proving,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  public,  the  superiority 
of  the  locomotive.  At  the  dinner  which  followed  the  opening  of 
the  Sheffield  and  Rotherham  line,  the  Earl  Fitzwilliam  presided, 
and  most  of  the  notable  personages  of  the  district,  including  the 
Master  Cutler,  were  present,  and  made  speeches.  When  Mr. 
Stephenson's  turn  came  to  speak,  he  could  not  resist  the  oppor- 
tunity of  contrasting  the  recent  success  of  railways  with  the  ob- 
stacles which  had  early  beset  them,  and  the  now  proved  efficiency 
of  the  locomotive  with  the  former  dismal  prophecies  of  its  fail- 
ure. "  He  ventured  to  say  that  he  might  lay  claim  to  some 
credit  for  what  he  had  done  with  respect  to  locomotive  engines. 
He  had  now  fought  their  battles  for  twenty-five  years,  and  for 
more  than  twenty  years  of  that  time  single-handed.  Though  all 
other  engineers  had  been  against  him,  he  still  persevered.  The 
most  severe  trials  which  he  had  to  go  through  were  in  going  to 
Parliament,  where  he  had  the  barristers  to  encounter.  When 
they  put  him  into  the  witness-box,  they  generally  looked  about 
to  measure  their  man.  He  was  quite  aware  that  they  had  certain 
tools  to  work  with  if  he  was  not  a  good  witness.  They  did  not 
care  a  pin  about  a  locomotive  engine ;  their  object  was  to  put  him 
off  his  guard,  and  then  they  could  bring  him  down.  He  must 
say,  that  he  had  gone  into  the  witness-box  many  and  many  a 
time  with  the  utmost  possible  reluctance.     The  only  thing  which 

gave  him  courage  was,  that  he  knew  he  had  nothing  but  truth  to 
23 


354  LIFE  OF    GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

state.  He  knew  enough  of  mechanics  to  know  where  to  stop. 
He  knew  that  a  pound  would  weigh  a  pound,  and  that  more 
should  not  be  put  upon  a  line  than  it  would  bear.  He  never  was 
an  advocate  for  unfavorable  gradients  —  he  wanted  low  levels. 
They  had  been  passing  that  day  upon  a  beautiful  low  level,  and 
it  was  in  a  situation  where  no  low  level  line  would  ever  be 
brought  to  compete  with  it." 

Mr.  Stephenson  always  took  great  pleasure  in  alluding  to  the 
services  rendered  to  himself  and  the  public  by  the  young  men 
brought  up  under  his  eye — his  pupils  at  first,  and  afterwards  his 
assistants.  No  great  master  ever  possessed  a  more  devoted  band 
of  assistants  and  fellow-workers  than  he  did.  And,  indeed,  it 
was  one  of  the  most  marked  evidences  of  his  own  admirable  tact 
and  judgment  that  he  selected,  with  such  undeviating  correctness, 
the  men  best  fitted  to  carry  out  his  plans.  The  ability  to  accom- 
plish great  things,  to  carry  grand  ideas  into  practical  effect,  de- 
pends in  no  small  measure  on  an  intuitive  knowledge  of  charac- 
ter, which  Mr.  Stephenson  possessed  in  a  remarkable  degree. 
Thus,  on  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line,  he  secured  the  able 
sendees  of  Messrs.  Vignolles  and  Locke ;  the  latter  had  been  his 
pupil,  and  had  laid  down  for  him  several  coal-lines  in  the  north.* 
John  Dixon,  trained  by  him  on  the  Stockton  and  Darlington 
Railway,  afterwards  ably  carried  out  his  views  on  the  Canterbury 

*  An  unhappy  difference  afterwards  occurred  between  Mr.  Stephenson  and  Mr.  Locke, 
on.  the  latter  being  appointed  the  principal  engineer  of  the  Grani  Junction  Railway, 
during  the  progress  of  the  works.  Considerable  personal  feeling  was  thrown  into  the 
affair,  which  had  no  small  influence  upon  the  railway  politics  (so  to  speak)  of  the  time  : 
and  in  determining  the  direction  of  the  new  lines  of  railway  between  Manchester  and 
tb«  South.  The  projectors  of  the  Manchester  and  Birmingham  Railway — a  rival  line  to 
the  Grand  Junction — at  once  inrited  Mr  Stephenson  to  act  as  their  engineer ;  and  it  was 
alleged  that  a  personal  feeling  actuated  him  in  the  professional  support  which  he  gave  to 
the  undertaking.  The  declared  object  of  the  promoters,  however,  was  to  secure  a  more 
direct  communication  between  Manchester  and  London  than  was  afforded  by  the  circuit 
ous  route  via  Warrington.  Mr.  Crawshay,  at  one  of  their  meetings,  asserted,  that  he  for 
one  would  never  cease  going  to  Parliament  until  they  had  got  the  nearest  and  best  way 
to  the  metropolis.  In  like  manner,  the  Trent  Valley  line,  projected  with  the  same  ob- 
ject, had  the  strong  support  of  the  Manchester  men  ;  indeed,  the  project  originated 
almost  entirely  with  them. 


HIS  PUPILS.  355 

and  Whitstable,  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester,  aiid  the  Chester 
Railways.  Thomas  Gooch  was  his  able  representative  in  super- 
intending the  execution  of  the  formidable  works  of  the  Manches- 
ter  and  Leeds  line.  Swanwick  on  the  North  Midland,  Birken- 
shaw  on  the  Birmingham  and  Derby,  and  Cabrey  on  the  York 
and  North  Midland,  seconded  him  well  and  ably,  and  established 
their  own  reputation  while  they  increased  the  engineering  fame 
of  their  master.  All  these  men,  then  comparatively  young,  be- 
came, in  course  of  time,  engineers  of  distinction,  and  were  em- 
ployed to  conduct,  on  their  own  account,  numerous  railway  enter- 
prises of  great  magnitude. 

At  the  dinner  at  York,  which  followed  the  partial  opening  of 
the  York  and  North  Midland  Railway,  Mr.  Stephenson,  as  was 
his  wont,  prominently  acknowledged  the  merit  of  his  engineering 
pupils  and  assistants,  and  accompanied  the  recognition  with  many 
encouragements  drawn  from  his  own  life  and  experience.  On 
this  occasion,  he  said  "  he  was  sure  they  would  appreciate  his 
feelings  when  he  told  them,  that  when  he  first  began  railway  bus- 
iness, liis  hair  was  black,  although  it  was  now  gray ;  and  that  he 
began  his  life's  labor  as  but  a  poor  ploughboy.  He  was  only  eight 
years  old  when  he  went  to  work,  and  he  had  been  laboring  hard 
ever  since.  About  thirty  years  since,  he  had  applied  himself  to 
the  study  of  how  to  generate  high  velocities  by  mechanical  means. 
He  thought  he  had  solved  that  problem.  But  when  he  afterwards 
appeared  before  a  Committee  of  Parliament,  and  stated  that,  in 
his  opinion,  a  locomotive  machine  might,  with  safety,  travel  upon 
a  railway  at  a  speed  of  ten  miles  an  hour,  he  was  told  that  his 
evidence  was  not  worth  listening  to.  That,  however,  did  not 
prevent  him  going  forward  with  his  plans,  and  they  had  for  them- 
selves seen,  that  day,  what  perseverance  had  brought  him  to. 
He  was,  on  that  occasion,  only  too  happy  to  have  an  opportunity 
of  acknowledging  that  he  had,  in  the  later  portion  of  his  career, 
received  much  most  valuable  assistance,  particularly  from  young 
men  brought  up  in  his  manufactory.     Whenever  talent  showed 


356  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

itself  in  a  young  man,  he  had  always  given  that  talent  encour- 
agement where  he  could,  and  he  would  continue  to  do  so." 

That  this  was  no  exaggerated  statement,  is  amply  proved  by 
facts  which  redound  to  Mr.  Stephenson's  credit.  He  was  no  nig- 
gard of  encouragement  and  praise  when  he  saw  honest  industry 
struggling  for  a  footing.  Many  were  the  young  men  whom,  in 
the  course  of  his  useful  career,  he  took  by  the  hand  and  led 
steadily  up  to  honor  and  emolument,  simply  because  he  had  noted 
their  zeal,  diligence  and  integrity.  One  youth  excited  his  inter- 
est while  working  as  a  common  carpenter  on  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  line ;  and  before  many  years  had  passed,  he  was  re- 
cognized as  an  engineer  of  distinction.  Another  young  man  he 
found  industriously  working  away  at  his  bye-hours,  and,  admiring 
his  diligence,  engaged  him  for  his  private  secretary ;  the  gentle- 
man shortly  after  rising  to  a  position  of  eminent  influence  and 
usefulness.  Indeed,  nothing  gave  Mr.  Stephenson  greater  pleas- 
ure than  in  this  way  to  help  on  any  deserving  youth  who  came 
under  his  observation,  and,  in  his  OAvn  expressive  phrase,  to  "  make 
a  man  of  him." 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

SURVEYS  OF  LINES  TO  SCOTLAND  AND  HOLYIIEAD. 

Having  now  supplied  the  more  important  districts  of  York- 
shire and  Lancashire  with  efficient  railway  communication,  con- 
nected with  the  metropolis  by  means  of  the  London  and  Bir- 
mingham Railway,  and  the  Midland  lines,  which  radiated  from 
it,  Mr.  Stephenson's  attention  was  next  directed  to  the  comple- 
tion of  the  system,  so  as  to  embrace  Scotland  on  the  north,  and 
Ireland  on  the  west,  and  place  the  capitals  of  those  divisions  of 
the  United  Kingdom  in  more  direct  communication  with  the  great 
heart  of  the  nation — the  city  of  London. 

He  had  already,  with  the  assistance  of  his  son,  been  instru- 
mental in  carrying  the  great  main  line  of  road  as  far  northward 
as  Newcastle-on-Tyne ;  and  his  advice  was  from  time  to  time 
anxiously  solicited  as  the  best  mode  of  completing  the  remaining 
links.  As  early  as  1836,  he  had  been  called  upon,  by  the  com- 
mittee of  a  proposed  railway  between  Edinburgh  and  Dunbar, 
to  inspect  the  route,  and  report  thereon,  with  a  view  to  the  line 
being  afterwards  connected  with  Newcastle.  He  proceeded  to 
comply  with  this  request,  and,  at  the  same  time,  he  personally 
examined  the  other  routes  by  which  such  a  line  could  pass  from 
Edinburgh  to  the  south — traversing  the  vale  of  the  Gala,  and 
the  mountainous  district  of  Carter  Fell — while  he  also  carefully 
inspected  the  coast  route,  by  way  of  Berwick-upon-Tweed.  In 
his  report  to  the  directors  of  the  projected  line,  he  stated  his 

(357) 


358  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

opinion  to  be  in  favor  of  the  latter  route,  on  account  both  of  the 
more  favorable  nature  of  the  gradients,  and  the  less  expensive 
character  of  the  works.* 

The  project,  however,  slept  until  August,  1838,  when  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson was  requested  to  make  a  further  careful  inspection  of 
the  country  between  Newcastle  and  Edinburgh,  and  "  report  his 
opinion  on  the  best  line  of  railway  between  those  places,  upon 
levels  to  which  locomotive  steam  power  can  be  advantageously 
applied,  pi-eparatory  to  such  line  being  more  minutely  surveyed, 
and  ultimately  adopted."  After  again  making  a  careful  inspec- 
tion of  the  country,  he  sent  in  his  rcport.f  He  went  at  great 
length  into  the  comparative  merits  of  the  routes  by  Carter  Fell 
and  by  Berwick,  and  expressed  a  decided  opinion,  as  before,  on 
the  superiority  of  the  latter  route.  As  the  report  presented  by 
him  on  this  subject  contains  many  points  of  interest,  and  may  be 
taken  as  a  fair  specimen  of  the  character  of  his  railway  reports, 
we  venture  to  give  the  following  extract : 

"  In  laying  out  a  line  of  railway  from  England  to  the  two  prin- 
cipal cities  in  Scotland,  and  as  a  great  thoroughfare  between  the 
two  countries,  there  are  many  circumstances  to  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration. The  first  and  most  important  of  all,  considering  it  as 
a  great  national  work,  and  desirable  for  the  convenience  and  ad- 
vantage of  the  whole  community,  is  to  endeavor  to  obtain  a  rail- 
way with  such  inclinations  as  will  secure  a  certain,  speedy,  and 
safe  conveyance  between  the  two  countries,  not  merely  for  the 
conveyance  of  passengers,  but  more  especially  for  the  mails. 
We  should  endeavor  to  obtain  a  railway  on  which  the  engines 
should  at  all  times  be  enabled  to  perform  the  duties  required  of 
them,  without  having  to  encounter  steep  inclined  planes  totally 
unfit  for  the  profitable  employment  of  the  locomotive  engine,  and 
also  without  having  to  depend  in  a  great  measure  upon  the  pecu- 

*  Report  to  the  Directors  of  the  Edinburgh  and  Dunbai-  Railway,  dated  Alton  Grange, 
September  11th,  1836. 
t  Report,  September  13th,  1838. 


REPORT  ON  THE  EAST  COAST  LINE.        359 

liar  state  of  the  atmosphere,  in  order  to  enable  the  engines  to 
sunnount  such  inclined  planes  at  all. 

"  It  is  exti'emely  desirable,  in  laying  out  a  main  line  of  rail- 
way like  this,  to  avoid  as  much  as  possible  passing  through  a 
high  country,  as  in  so  doing  you  not  only  invariably  meet  with 
difficulties  in  the  form  of  extensive  works  to  be  executed,  and 
inclined  planes  to  be  overcome,  but  you  also  traverse  a  country 
much  more  subject  to  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  especially 
in  winter,  where  in  high  countries  the  snow,  a  great  impeder  to 
railway  travehng,  remains  so  long  a  time  upon  the  ground. 

"  In  consequence  of  the  line  I  propose  to  you  running  so  near 
the  coast,  it  is  entirely  free  from  those  great  disadvantages.  It 
passes  through  a  low  country ;  it  possesses  levels  of  a  most  favor- 
able nature  ;  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  sea-coast  the  snow 
remains  a  very  short  time  upon  the  ground.  The  line  itself  runs 
so  near  the  coast,  that  it  may  be  found  of  great  advantage  in 
conveying  troops  from  station  to  station,  and,  in  case  of  war,  in 
conveying  dispatches  from  the  seat  of  government  to  any  part  of 
the  North,  and  also  for  keeping  up  a  communication  with  the  sea. 
If  it  should  be  found  necessary,  the  whole  line,  from  Newcastle 
to  Edinburgh,  might  be  formed  into  one  continuous  battery,  by 
erecting  a  mound  in  exposed  places  to  protect  the  engines  from 
any  attack  from  the  sea.  The  whole  troops  of  the  country  might 
also  by  its  means  be  concentrated  in  one  spot  on  the  shortest 
notice. 

"  The  line  of  railway  which  I  am  proposing  will  constitute  the 
last  link  in  the  great  chain  of  railway  communication  from  Lon- 
don to  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow :  in  the  whole  of  this  chain  there 
will  not  be  between  London  and  Edinburgh  one  inclination  ex- 
ceeding 20  feet  a  mile  (except  at  the  London  and  Birmingham 
station),  and  the  characteristic  inclination  will  be  16  feet  a  mile. 
The  same  description  of  engine  will  be  enabled  to  work  the 
whole  of  the  lines  included  in  this  chain,  so  that,  if  it  should  be 
necessary,  either  from  necessity  or  dispatch  being  requisite,  or 


860  LIFE  OF   GEORGE  STEPHENSOX. 

in  case  of  accident,  an  engine  may  be  transferred  from  one  line 
to  another,  capable  of  performing  the  work.  But,  as  I  stated 
before,  it  appears  to  me  that,  both  in  a  national  and  commercial 
point  of  view,  the  most  important  consideration  in  procuring  easy 
inclinations  is,  that  it  insures  a  certain,  speedy  and  punctual  per- 
formance of  the  duties  required  from  the  engines. 

'•  In  looking  at  the  subject  in  a  local  point  of  view,  I  may  state 
that  it  has  always  been  my  practice  to  lay  out  main  lines  of  rail- 
way through  the  lowest  country,  unless  some  important  consider- 
ation, such  as  a  large  and  populous  toAvn,  induced  me  to  diverge 
into  a  higher  country.  I  consider  that  by  adopting  the  low  coun- 
try I  have  many  advantages  which  are  lost  by  taking  a  high  one. 
Considering  the  subject  locally,  I  afford  great  facilities  in  procur- 
ing cheap  branches  from  the  main  line  into  the  interior  of  the 
country,  and  up  the  various  valleys  which  run  nearly  at  right 
angles  to  the  main  line ;  for  instance,  as  regards  the  present  rail- 
way, those  productions,  both  agricultural  and  mineral,  which  are 
found  in  Northumberland  and  Scotland,  may  be  conveyed  on 
branch  railways  running  up  the  valleys  of  the  Blyth,  the  Wans- 
beck,  the  Coquet,  and  the  Tweed,  on  declining  railways  from  the 
places  where  they  are  produced  to  the  main  line  of  railway,  when 
they  can  be  carried  north  or  south,  as  may  be  requii'ed. 

"  It  is  a  very  important  consideration  indeed,  that  branch  rail- 
ways should  possess  a  falling  inclination  towards  the  main  line, 
as  the  productions  of  the  country  are  invariably  conveyed  either 
to  the  coast  for  shipment,  or  to  populous  towns  through  which 
the  main  railways  of  the  kingdom  are  carried ;  and  the  traffic 
conveyed  from  populous  towns  and  the  coast  into  the  interior  of 
the  country  is  generally  of  a  light  description,  consisting  of  gro- 
ceries, and  what  may  be  called  the  luxuries  of  life.  There  is, 
however,  in  this  case,  an  exception,  and  that  is  the  river  Tweed. 
It  will  be  a  great  advantage  to  the  valley  of  the  Tweed,  inasmuch 
as  the  inhabitants  will  procure  both  lime  and  coal  from  Berwick 
at  a  cheap  rate,  and  as  that  river  is  crossed  at  the:  height  of  90 


KEPORT    ON    THE    EAST    COAST   LINE.  361 

feet,  and  being  a  sluggish  stream  near  its  mouth,  you  will  be 
enabled  to  have  a  level  branch  along  the  valley  for  many  miles. 

"  The  towns  of  Morpeth,  Belford,  Alnwick  and  Kelso  may  be 
easily  accommodated  by  branches  up  the  different  valleys  in 
which  they  are  situated. 

"  I  will  now  conclude  this  Report,  congratulating  you  upon  the 
favorable  nature  of  the  country,  and  the  great  facilities  which 
exist  for  constructing  the  works  on  the  coast  line,  with  a  firm 
conviction  on  my  own  mind  that  it  is  the  only  feasible  and  desira- 
ble line  of  railway,  with  levels  to  which  locomotive  steam  power 
can  be  advantageously  applied,  between  the  town  of  Newcastle- 
upon-Tyne  and  the  cities  of  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow." 

The  recommendations  contained  in  this  able  Report  were 
eventually  adopted,  although  several  years  elapsed  before  the 
line  was  actually  constructed.  This  delay  was  caused  by  una- 
voidable circumstances,  to  which  we  shall  afterwards  recur.  In 
the  meantime,  the  alternative  route  to  Edinburgh  by  Carter  Fell 
was  not  without  its  advocates,  Mi\  Nicholas  Wood  heading  the 
opposition  to  Mr.  Stephenson,  and  alleging  that  the  east  coast 
route  by  Berwick  "  could  neither  answer  the  purpose  of  the  public 
in  general  nor  the  subscribers."* 

Mr.  Stephenson  was  also  consulted  with  reference  to  the  for- 
mation of  a  main  line  from  Chester  to  Holyhead,  with  the  view 
of  improving  the  railway  communication  with  Dublin,  and  Ireland 
generally.  Mr.  Giles  and  Mr.  VignoUes  were  both  engaged  in 
surveying  lines  of  railway  to  Holyhead  in  1838,  and  they  pre- 
sented reports  on  the  subject  to  their  respective  promoters. 
About  the  same  time  the  directors  of  the  Chester  and  Crewe 
Company  called  upon  Mr.  Stephenson  to  make  a  preliminary 
survey  of  the  country  between  Chester  and  Holyhead,  and  inquire 
into  the  practicability  of  forming  the  line  by  Shrewsbury  to  Port 
Dynllaen,  which  had  been  suggested  by  the  Irish  Railway  Com- 
missioners in  their  published  report,  as  compared  with  a  line  to 

*  Railway  Times,  1839,  p  372. 


362  LIFE  OF    GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

Holyhead  passing  through  Chester.  After  a  careful  examination, 
Mr.  Stephenson  reported  in  very  strong  terms  against  the  line 
adopted  by  the  Irish  Railway  Commissioners,  and  by  Mr.  Vig- 
nolles,  and  in  favor  of  the  route  by  Chester,  which,  he  alleged, 
could  be  formed  for  less  money,  and  would  be  a  shorter  line,  with 
much  more  favorable  gradients.* 

A  public  meeting  was  held  at  Chester  on  the  10th  of  January, 
1839,  in  support  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  line,  at  which  the  Marquis 
of  Westminster,  j\Ir.  Wilbraham,  the  member  for  the  county,  and 
other  influential  gentlemen,  were  present.  Mr.  Uniacke,  the 
Mayoi',  in  opening  the  proceedings,  observed  that  it  clearly 
appeared  that  the  rival  line  through  Shrewsbury  was  quite  im- 
practicable. "  Mr.  Stephenson,  the  first  railway  authority  in  the 
kingdom — in  fact,  the  father  of  railways — had  so  characterized 
it ;  and,  after  that  opinion,  he  did  not  think  that  any  one  could 
be  found  who  would  risk  money  in  such  a  speculation.  Their 
object  was,  to  advance  and  carry  the  really  practicable  project ; 
and  he  would  take  the  opportunity  of  saying,  that  the  dissemina- 
tion of  Mr.  Stephenson's  admirable  report  had  satisfied  the  people 
of  Ireland,  not  only  that  the  project  was  practicable,  but  that  it 
was  the  only  one  that  was  practicable,  and  worthy  of  general 
support."  Mr.  Stephenson,  he  added,  was  present  in  the  room, 
ready  to  answer  any  questions  which  might  be  put  to  him  on  the 
subject ;  and  "  it  would  be  better  that  he  should  be  asked  ques- 
tions than  required  to  make  a  speech ;  for,  though  a  very  good 
engineer,  he  was  a  bad  speaker."  One  of  the  questions  then  put 
to  Mr.  Stephenson  related  to  the  mode  by  which  he  proposed  to 
haul  the  passenger  carriages  over  the  Menai  Bridge  by  horse 
power ;  and  he  was  asked  whether  he  knew  the  pressure  the 
bridge  was  capable  of  sustaining.  His  answer  was,  that  "  he  had 
not   yet   made   any  calculations ;  but   he  proposed  getting  data 

*  Report  upon  the  proposed  Railway  Communications  with  Ireland,  addressed  to  the 
Directors  of  the  Chester  and  Crewe  Railway  Company,  dated  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  Dec 
19th,  1838. 


LINE    TO    HOLYHEAD.  363 

which  would  enable  him  to  arrive  at  an  accurate  calculation  of 
the  actual  strain  upon  the  bridge  during  the  late  gale.  But  he 
had  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  it  was  more  than  twenty  times 
as  much  as  the  strain  of  a  train  of  carriages  and  a  locomotive 
engine.  The  only  reason  why  he  proposed  to  convey  the  car- 
riages over  by  horses,  was  in  order  that  he  might,  by  distributing 
the  weight,  not  increase  the  waving  motion.  All  the  train  would 
be  on  at  once ;  but  distributed.  This  he  thought  better  than 
passing  them  linked  together  by  a  locomotive  engine." 

Mr.  Vignolles,  in  the  course  of  the  same  month,  published  a 
defense  of  his  mode  of  effecting  a  communication  between  London 
and  Dublin,  although  he  confessed  that  to  impugn  Mr.  Stephen- 
son's statements  in  reference  to  his  measure,  or  to  enter  into  a 
professional  contest  with  such  high  authority,  was  almost  "  beard- 
ing the  lion  in  his  den."  The  Dublin  Chamber  of  Commerce 
decided  in  favor  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  plan ;  and  at  a  meeting  of 
members  of  Parliament  held  in  London  in  May,  1839,  a  series 
of  resolutions  was  adopted  in  favor  of  the  scheme.  At  that 
meeting  Mr.  Stephenson  was  present,  and  gave  explanations  on 
many  of  its  essential  points.  Notwithstanding,  however,  these 
important  demonstrations  of  opinion  in  its  favor,  Mr.  Stephenson's 
plan  of  a  railway  from  Chester  to  Holyhead,  like  many  others 
projected  about  the  same  time,  was  allowed  to  drop  ;  and  it  was 
not  resumed  until  several  years  after,  when  it  was  taken  up  by 
his  son,  and  brought  to  a  successful  completion,  with  certain 
modifications,  including  the  grand  original  feature  of  the  tubular 
bridge  across  the  Menai  Straits.* 

The  completion  of  a  main  line  of  railway  communication 
between  London  and  Glasgow  by  the  western  side  of  the  island, 
was  another  of  the  great  projects  on  which  Mr.  Stephenson  was 
now  engaged.  In  1837,  he  was  requested  by  the  Caledonian 
Railway  Committee,  and  also  by  the  Whitehaven,  Workington, 
and  Maryport  Railway  Committee,  to  make  an  examination  of 

*  The  Chester  and  Holyhead  Act  was  obtained  in  the  session  of  1844. 


o 


64  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 


the  country,  and  report  to  them  as  to  the  best  line  that  could  be 
formed.  With  this  object,  he  made  a  careful  survey  of  the  entire 
country  between  Lancaster  and  Carlisle,  by  Ulverstone  and 
Whitehaven,  and  also  by  Kirby,  Lonsdale,  and  Penrith.  As 
on  the  eastern  coast,  here  also  he  reported  in  favor  of  the  coast 
route.  Besides  the  flatness  of  such  a  line,  and  the  consequent 
superiority  of  the  gradients — a  point  to  which  he  always  attached 
the  greatest  importance — the  coast  line  could,  be  formed  at  com- 
paratively small  expense ;  valuable  iron  mines  would  be  opened 
out,  from  which  a  large  traffic  might  be  anticipated,  while,  as  a 
collateral  advantage,  an  extensive  tract  of  valuable  land  would  be 
reclaimed  by  the  formation  of  his  proposed  embankment  across 
Ulverston  sands,  at  the  head  of  Morecombe  Bay.  There  would 
also  be  fifteen  miles  less  of  new  railway  to  be  constructed  by  the 
coast  line  than  by  the  more  direct  inland  route  across  Shap  Fell. 
The  latter  route  —  planned  by  Mr.  Locke  —  was  twenty  miles 
shorter  between  Lancaster  and  Carlisle ;  but  the  gradients  were 
much  heavier,  and  the  works  fiir  more  difficult  and  costly.  It 
was,  however,  eventually  preferred  to  the  west  coast  line  of  Mr. 
Stephenson,  which  was,  for  a  time,  lost  sight  of.  Nevertheless  it 
has  since  been  formed ;  the  large  traffic  in  iron  oz*e  which  he 
anticipated  has  been  obtained ;  and  his  favorite  scheme  of  re- 
claiming the  immense  tract  of  land  at  the  head  of  Morcombe  Bay 
— from  forty  to  fifty  thousand  acres  in  extent — by  means  of  the 
railway  embankment  necessary  to  complete  the  connection  with 
the  Lancaster  and  Carhsle  line,  has  recently  been  carried  into 
effect  in  a  modified  form,  and  to  some  extent  after  his  plans.* 

The  Leeds  and  Bradford  Railway,  surveyed  by  Mr.  Stephen- 
son in  1838,  was  a  line  of  comparatively  small  extent,  but  of 
considerable  importance  in  a  local  point  of  view,  as  connecting 
the  two  principal  manufacturing  towns  of  Yorkshire.  The  scheme 
was  brought  out  in  the  following   year,  under  very  favorable 

*  See  Reports  by  Mr.  Stephenson  on   the  subject,  dated  October  12th,  1833;  March 
13th,  1837 ;  and  August  16th,  1837. 


NUMEROUS    RAILWAYS    AUTHORIZED.  365 

auspices ;  but  like  most  of  the  railway  projects  of  the  same 
period,  it  was  suspended  in  consequence  of  the  financial  embar- 
rassment of  the  country,  which  was  to  some  extent  caused  by  the 
large  investments  of  capital  in  railways  during  the  few  preceding 
years. 

The  rapidity  with  which  railways  had  been  extended  between 
the  years  1836  and  1839  was  extraordinary,  although  not  to  be 
compared  with  the  railway  mania  of  a  subsequent  peiiod.  There 
was  quite  a  rush  for  railway  acts  in  the  sessions  of  1836  and 
1837.  In  the  former  yeai*,  thirty-four  bills  passed  the  legislature, 
authorizing  the  formation  of  994  miles  of  new  railway,  at  an 
estimated  cost  of  17,595,000/.  The  traffic  cases  got  up  by  the 
promoters  of  some  of  the  bills,  were  very  strong.  Traific-taking 
had  become  a  lucrative  trade  ;  and  ingenious  arithmeticians  who 
devoted  themselves  to  the  art  of  getting  up  traffic,  soon  became 
able  to  "prove"  whatever  the  promoters  of  railways  wanted. 
Thus,  the  traffic  case  of  the  Eastern  Counties  Railway  showed 
that  there  would  be  a  clear  profit  on  the  outlay  of  23|^  per  cent. ! 
The  Xorth  Midland  "proved"  a  traffic  which  would  yield  them 
a  profit  of  10|^  per  cent. ;  the  York  and  North  Midland,  of  13^ ; 
and  the  London  and  Cambi'idge,  of  14^  per  cent.  Other  com- 
panies made  out  equally  "strong"  traffic  cases. 

In  the  following  session  of  1837,  not  fewer  than  118  notices 
of  new  railway  bills  were  given.  Seventy-nine  of  these  were 
actually  introduced  to  Parliament ;  and  forty-two  acts  were 
obtained,  the  principal  of  which,  however,  were  extensions  of 
previous  acts.  Fourteen  new  companies  were  incorporated,  and 
authorized  to  construct  464  miles  of  railway,  at  a  cost  of  8,087,- 
000/.  During  this  session  the  traffic-takers  grew  bolder,  and 
reached  their  highest  flights.  Thus,  the  promoters  of  the  Sheffield 
and  Manchester  Bill  "proved"  a  traffic  which  was  to  yield  a  net 
profit  of  18^  per  cent,  on  the  outlay.  One  of  the  fortunate  share- 
holders in  the  company,  in  a  letter  to  the  "  Railway  Magazine," 


366  LIFE  OP  GEOKGE  STEPHENSON. 

even  went  so  far  beyond  the  traffic-taker,  as  to  calcalate  on  a 
dividend  of  80  per  cent. ! 

But  the  prodigious  extent  of  railway  works  already  authorized 
was  not  enough  to  satisfy  the  rage  for  railway  extension  which 
still  prevailed;  for,  by  the  end  of  1837,  notices  were  given  of 
seventy-five  new  bills,  to  authorize  the  construction  of  some  1230 
miles  of  additional  railway,  at  an  estimated  cost  of  above  nineteen 
millions  sterling.  By  this  time,  thirty  millions  had  actually  been 
expended,  and  nearly  1500  miles  of  railway  constructed  and 
opened,  in  the  course  of  a  very  few  years ;  and  several  hundred 
thousand  laborers  and  mechanics  were  still  occupied  in  the 
making  of  railways  and  the  manufacture  of  railway  stock.  It 
was  estimated  that  the  railways  in  course  of  construction  would 
cost  twenty-two  millions  more  before  they  were  ready  for  traffic. 
Heavy  calls  were  made  from  time  to  time  upon  the  holders  of 
the  shares  to  enable  the  works  to  proceed.  The  monetary  press- 
ure which  had  already  set  in,  was  thereby  increased ;  shares  fell 
in  price ;  and  the  railway  interest  began  to  be  severely  discour- 
aged. Railway  extension  was  thus  effectually  checked  for  a 
time ;  and  a  sort  of  collapse  ensued,  which,  together  with  the 
restrictions  imposed  by  Parliament  on  the  obtaining  of  new  acts, 
placed  a  severe  and  indeed  wholesome  restraint  upon  speculation ; 
and  many  of  the  most  recent  railway  projects  were  consequently 
abandoned,  or  for  a  time  lay  dormant.  Amongst  this  latter  class, 
were  Mr.  Stephenson's  East  and  West  Coast  lines  to  Scotland, 
the  Chester  and  Holyhead  Railway,  and  the  line  from  Leeds  to 
Bradford.  During  the  two  sessions  of  1838  and  1839  only  five 
new  railway  companies  obtained  acts  of  incorporation.  In  1840, 
not  a  single  railway  act  was  obtained;  and  in  1841  only  the 
Hertford  and  Ware  branch,  5|  miles  in  length,  was  authorized; 
and  even  that  was  not  constructed.  Li  1842  the  Newcastle  and 
Darlington  Railway  (part  of  the  original  Great  North  of  England, 
which  could  not  be  completed  for  want  of  capital)  was  authorized 
under  this  new  name ;  and  in  the  same  session,  the  Yai'mouth 


RAILWAY    SPECULATION.  367 

and  Norwich  and  Warwick  and  Leamington  branches  were 
authorized.  The  year  1843  was  also  a  quiet  railway  session, 
only  a  few  new  branches  of  established  lines  having  been  then 
authorized;  and  it  was  not  until  1844  that  the  tide  of  railway 
enterprise  suddenly  rose  again,  and  in  the  following  year  fairly 
burst  all  bounds,  breakuig  out  in  the  wildest  fury  of  speculation. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

MR.  STEPHENSON  AND  THE  NEW  SCHOOL  OF  FAST  ENGINEERS. 

The  general  demand  for  railways  which  sprang  up  shortly 
after  the  successful  opening  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester 
line,  brought  into  existence  a  large  number  of  engineers  of  great 
ability,  distinguished  by  their  practical  skill  and  their  high  stand- 
ing as  scientific  men.  In  this  country  of  free  industrial  compe- 
tition, no  sooner  does  the  demand  for  a  particular  class  of  talent 
arise,  than  it  is  supplied  as  if  by  magic.  The  laissez  faire  course 
of  action  adopted  by  the  government  with  reference  to  railways, 
though  it  led  to  much  bungling  and  enormous  expense,  neverthe- 
less gave  fuU  scope  to  the  genius  and  enterprise  of  English  en- 
gineers. So  long  as  the  pi-ospect  of  dividends  ranging  from  8  to 
15  per  cent,  was  held  out,  there  was  to  be  found  a  numerous 
class  of  private  capitalists  ready  to  invest  money  in  iron  roads, 
and  to  find  capital  for  the  construction  of  new  lines.  Much 
rivalry  thus  arose,  the  engineers  usually  appearing  as  the  leaders 
of  the  battle  on  opposing  sides,  when  two  or  more  lines  were 
started  between  the  same  points.  A  considerable  amount  of 
personal  feeling  was  occasionally  evoked  in  these  engineering 
contests,  which  were  as  often  trials  of  individual  ambition  as  of 
professional  skill.  Aspiring  juniors  sought  to  supplant  their 
elder  brethren  at  boards  of  directors,  or  to  defeat  theu*  schemes 
before  parliamentary  committees ;  and  many  new  men  labored 

(368) 


NOTIONS    OF    FAST    ENGINEERS.  369 

to  mature  and  bring  out  railway  projects  more  striking  and 
oinginal  than  anytliing  that  had  before  been  proposed. 

Whilst  continental  governments,  early  recognizing  the  great 
national  advantages  of  railways,  Avere  appointing  state  engineers 
for  the  purpose  of  determining  by  preliminary  surveys  the  most 
eligible  lines  of  communication,  leaving  only  the  execution  of  the 
requisite  Avorks  open  to  competition,  the  English  government 
left  it  to  joint-stock  companies  to  project  and  construct  our 
national  highways.  The  first  step  usually  taken  was  the  forma- 
tion of  a  provisional  committee,  which  at  once  proceeded  to  ap- 
point an  engineer  to  lay  out  the  line,  and  a  solicitor  to  constitute 
the  company  and  agitate  public  opinion  on  behalf  of  the  scheme. 
But  the  chief  responsibility  unquestionably  rested  Avith  the  en- 
gineer, Avho  had  to  find  a  practicable  road,  to  survey  the  line,  to 
plan  the  necessary  work — tunnels,  viaducts,  bridges,  cuttings 
and  embankmants — to  form  estimates  of  the  cost,  and,  above  all, 
to  be  prepared  to  stand  the  cross-examination  of  his  opponents 
before  Parliament. 

This  keen  competition  of  professional  ability  tended  rapidly  to 
develop  the  peculiar  qualities  of  the  English  Railway  Engineer. 
His  experience,  it  will  be  observed,  must  necessarily  be  of  an 
exceedingly  varied  character,  to  enable  him  to  stand  the  test  of 
the  parliamentary  crucible.  He  must  be  conversant  with  land- 
surveying  and  leveling,  and  have  considerable  practical  knowl- 
edge of  the  strength  and  qualities  of  materials — of  iron  work, 
masonry,  tunneling  and  earth  Avorks.  He  must  be  something  of 
an  architect,  a  mathematician  and  a  geologist.  He  must  also  be 
familiar  Avith  the  structure  of  the  steam-engine  and  its  application 
to  the  purposes  of  locomotion  ;  and  he  must  have  studied  the 
principles  of  mechanical  science,  more  especially  the  laws  of 
gravity,  friction  and  momentum.  Thus,  the  practical  education 
of  the  English  Engineer  included  almost  the  entire  field  of 
natural  science.  Being  often  called  upon  to  act  in  emergencies, 
he  acquired  a  promptitude  of  action,  and  a  facility  in  inventin"^ 


370  LIFE   OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

expedients  to  meet  clifTiculties  as  they  arose,  which  gave  him  a 
commanding  superiority  over  the  engineers  of  the  continent. 
The  works  on  foreign  railways  being  for  the  most  part  under  the 
control  of  Government,  their  engineers,  though  possessing  the 
advantages  of  a  much  more  scientific  training,  were  trammeled 
raid  fettered  in  all  that  they  did  ;  and  in  cases  of  gi'eat  practical 
difficulty,  which  required  boldness  and  skill  of  contrivance,  the 
English  engineers — though  they  might,  like  Greorge  Stephenson, 
be  entirely  self-educated — were  found  greatly  their  superiors. 

With  all  the  wholesome  rivalry  and  competition  to  which  we 
have  referred,  and  which  tended  to  stimulate  and  strengthen  their 
practical  ability,  there  w^as  a  considerable  admixture  of  jealousy 
and  heartburning.  It  was  long  before  Mr.  Stephenson,  notwith- 
standing the  immense  engineering  works  he  had  planned  and 
executed,  was  recognized  by  the  "regular"  professional  men  as 
entitled  to  the  status  of  a  Civil  Engineer.  He  had  served  no 
apprenticeship,  and  could  show  no  indentui'es.  Even  the  me- 
chanical engineers  connected  with  the  manufacture  of  steam-en- 
gines regarded  him  as  an  interloper,  denied  him  all  merit,  and 
pursued  him  with  detraction  in  the  pages  of  their  "Mechanics' 
Magazine,"  long  after  the  world  had  recognized  his  claims  to  dis- 
tinction. This  bittei'ness  of  spirit  produced  a  similar  spirit  in 
himself;  and  he  occasionally  entertained  a  resentment  towards 
his  detractors  which  he  could  not  and  would  not  conceal. 

The  railway  system,  as  established  by  Mr.  Stephenson,  was  too 
new  as  yet  to  command  that  prestige  which  belongs  to  older  insti- 
tutions. It  was  but  in  its  infancy ;  and  the  many  able  engineers 
who  rose  up,  naturally  supposed  it  to  be  imperfect,  and  capable 
of  vast  improvement.  The  scientific  professional  men  employed 
to  survey  the  numerous  new  lines  of  railway  which  radiated  in 
all  dii'ections  from  the  metropolis,  exerted  themselves  to  improve 
upon  JMr.  Stephenson's  plans,  and  thereby  to  enhance  their  own 
reputation.  Indeed,  they  were  sometimes  twitted  by  the  press 
for  following  so  closely  in  the  footsteps  of  the  comparatively  un- 


THE    UNDULATING    SYSTEM.  371 

educated  men  avIio  had  gathered  their  experience  in  the  New- 
castle coal-pits.  Several  of  the  new  engineers  therefore  determ- 
ined to  be  original.  About  the  year  1838,  they  began  to  strike 
out  many  new  lights,  and  to  propound  new  plans,  by  way  of  im- 
provement upon  the  Stephenson  system. 

These  aspiring  engineers  did  not  want  followers  enough 
amongst  railway  speculators.  In  answer  to  the  objections  ad- 
vanced against  their  plans^  they  cited  the  numerous  predictions 
which  had  so  recently  been  uttered  against  the  practicability  of 
working  the  locomotive  itself  upon  railways.  Give  them  an 
opportunity,  and  they  would  prove  even  the  locomotive  to  be 
clumsy,  and  the  existing  system  quite  inferior  to  their  own. 
And,  indeed,  so  many  "impracticable"  and  "impossible"  things 
had  within  a  very  few  years  been  proved  to  be  both  practicable 
and  possible  on  railways,  that  the  public  became  much  less  skep- 
tical as  to  the  plans  of  new  projectors,  and  many  were  found 
ready  to  subscribe  their  capital  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  them 
into  practical  use. 

Among  the  many  novelties  in  railway  engineering  originated 
by  the  new  school,  the  proposal  of  a  pneumatic  apparatus  to 
supei'sede  entirely  the  locomotive  engine,  Avas  probably  the  most 
important.  It  was  also  proposed  to  adopt  uneven  railways,  with- 
out much  regard  to  gi'adients,  as  an  improvement  upon  the  flat 
lines  so  much  insisted  upon  by  Mr.  Stephenson :  this  was  scientific- 
ally designated  "the  undulating  system."  And  some  engineers, 
whilst  retaining  the  locomotive  as  the  tractive  power,  proposed 
to  propel  it  at  speeds  which  even  Mr.  Stephenson  himself,  san- 
guine and  impracticable  as  he  had  so  often  been  pronounced,  had 
never  di-eampt  of. 

Another  improvement  which  was  much  discussed  for  many 
years,  and  of  which,  unhappily,  we  have  not  yet  heard  the  last, 
was  the  alteration  of  the  gauge  of  railways  from  4  feet  8^  inches 
to  a  greater  width. 

As  already  stated,  the  original  width  of  the  coal  tramroads  in 


372  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

the  North  had  virtually  determined  the  British  gauge.  It  was 
the  width  of  the  ordinary  road-track — not  fixed  after  any  scien- 
tific theory,  but  adopted  simply  from  general  use.  Mr.  Stephen- 
son introduced  it  without  alteration  on  the  Liverpool  and  Man- 
chester Railway ;  and  the  several  lines  subsequently  formed  in 
the  same  districts  were  laid  down  on  the  same  system.  ]Mr. 
Stephenson  from  the  first  anticipated  the  general  adoption  of  rail- 
ways throughout  England ;  and  one  of  the  principles  with  which 
he  started  was,  the  essential  importance  of  preserving  such  a 
uniformity  as  would  admit  of  perfect  communication  between 
them.  All  the  railways,  therefore,  laid  down  by  himself  and  his 
assistants  in  the  neighborhood  of  Manchester,  extending  from 
thence  to  London  on  the  south  and  to  Leeds  on  the  east,  were 
constructed  on  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  or  narrow  gauge. 
While  others  were  declaring  that  railroads  Avould  be  effective 
only  for  passenger  trafiic  and  for  the  local  accommodation  of  the 
largest  to^vns,  Mr.  Stephenson  foresaw  and  foretold  that  universal 
adoption  of  them  in  all  places  for  the  conveyance  both  of  goods 
and  passengers  which  the  iron-road  system  has  since  attained ; 
and  he  accordingly  prepared  the  railways  under  his  control  for 
the  eventual  receipt  of  traffic  from  the  cross  roads  and  the  by 
roads,  as  well  as  from  the  main  roads  of  the  kingdom. 

When  Mr.  Brunei  projected  the  Great  Western  line,  he  fixed 
upon  a  broader  gauge ;  but  he  adopted  a  narrower  view  of  the 
subject  of  railway  extension  than  Mr.  Stephenson  had  done.  He 
assumed  that  the  country  would  be  divided  into  railway  districts, 
under  a  sort  of  railway  Heptarchy,  each  having  little  intercourse 
with  the  other,  and  adopting  its  own  gauge  according  to  circum- 
stances. Mr.  Brunei  was  an  ingenious  designer,  and  fond  of 
doing  things  on  a  large  scale,  whether  in  forming  railways  or 
building  a  steam-ship.  Unlike  Mr.  Stephenson,  who,  though  no 
less  bold  in  his  original  conceptions,  adhered  to  opinions  once 
formed  with  remarkable  tenacity,  and  even  seemed  to  acquire  a 
certain  fixity  of  ideas  which  precluded  the  consideration  of  plans 


ALTERATION  OF  THE  GAUGE.  373 

at  variance  with  his  own — Mr.  Brunei  was  ever  looking  forward 
to  indefinite  and  continual  improvement ;  he  was  restive  under 
any  restraint  on  invention,  and  could  brook  no  limit  to  change. 
His  railways  were  to  be  broader,  his  locomotives  larger,  and  the 
speeds  to  be  attained  by  them  were  to  surpass  those  on  all  other 
railways.  But  even  the  speed  of  locomotives  would  not  satisfy 
^is  ambition ;  and  in  their  stead  he  would  have  a  system  of  gi- 
gantic pneumatic  tubes,  along  which  trains  of  travelers  were  to 
be  flashed  with  the  speed  of  lightning.  Mr.  Stephenson  was  not 
so  venturous,  but,  as  events  proved,  he  was  wiser.  His  locomo- 
tives and  his  railways  had  alike  been  carefully  designed ;  and  he 
had  so  well  adapted  them  to  the  practical  purposes  for  which  they 
were  intended,  that  they  held  their  ground  amidst  the  brilliant 
inventions  and  improvements  of  the  new  school  of  engineers ; 
and  to  this  day  they  remain  in  all  respects  very  much  as  he  left 
them. 

Mr.  Stephenson  was  examined  as  a  witness  in  favor  of  the 
Great  Western  Railway  Bill ;  but  the  subject  of  an  alteration  in 
the  gauge  of  the  line  had  not  then  been  mooted.  It  was  in  pre- 
pai'ing  the  working  plans,  that  Mr.  Brunei  conceived  the  idea  of 
increasing  the  width  of  his  gauge  to  seven  feet.  At  that  time, 
the  directors  of  the  London  and  Birmingham  Railway  had  under 
their  consideration  a  plan  for  joining  the  Great  Western  line  at 
Oxford,  and  uniting  with  them  in  a  joint  metropolitan  terminus. 
The  proposed  alteration  of  the  gauge  was  referred  by  them  to 
their  engineer,  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson,  who  reported  decidedly 
against  it.  The  Great  Western  directors,  however,  supported 
their  own  engineer ;  and  the  broad  gauge  was  eventually  adopted 
by  them,  but  not  without  a  lengthened  discussion.  In  his  report 
of  1838,  Mr.  Brunei  represented  to  the  proprietors,  that  the  po- 
sition of  the  Great  Western  line  was  such,  that  it  could  have  no 
connection  with  any  other  of  the  main  lines  of  railway,  now  that 
the  London  and  Birmingham  had  obtained  an  independent  access 
to  the  metropolis ;  that  it  held  the  exclusive  command  of  its 


374  LIFE   OF    GEORGE    STEPHEXSON. 

special  district ;  that  no  inconvenience  would  result  from  the  di- 
versity of  gauge,  as  that  district  was  entirely  isolated  from  the 
others ;  and,  further,  that  no  extension  of  the  line  towards  the 
north  would  be  required.  It  was  even  anticipated  by  Mr.  Brunei 
that  if  other  railways  were  formed,  their  exclusion  from  a  con- 
nection with  the  Great  Western  line  by  the  difference  of  gauge, 
would  be  of  advantage  to  the  company,  by  securing  for  it  a  mo- 
nopoly of  the  traffic  to  and  from  South  Wales  and  the  West  of 
England  for  all  time  to  come.  The  Great  Western  Railway  was 
thus  to  be  independent  of  all  other  railways,  and  to  stand  apart 
from  them  in  solitary  grandeur.  The  engineer  received  the  warm 
encomiums  of  the  directors  and  proprietors,  who  considered  it  a 
bold  and  original  thing  to  plan  a  railway  which  was  to  be  more 
than  two  feet  broader  than  any  other,  requiring  works  and  plant 
on  a  corresponding  scale,  without  regard  to  past  example  and 
experience.  Provincial  patriotism  was  also  evoked  in  favor  of 
the  measure ;  and  it  was  anticipated  that  Bristol  would  rival, 
if  not  far  outstrip  Liverpool,  in  its  railway  accommodation  and 
facilities. 

Mr.  Stephenson  was,  from  the  first,  opposed  to  the  adoption 
of  the  broad  gauge.  He  held  that  the  gauge  which  had  already 
been  adopted  on  the  northern  lines  was  amply  sufficient  for  the 
public  accommodation ;  that  it  was  wide  enough  to  admit  of  the 
most  effective  arrangement  of  the  machinery  of  the  locomotive  ; 
that  it  was  much  safer  to  work  over  where  the  curves  of  the 
railway  were  at  all  sharp ;  that  it  was  far  more  economical,  tak- 
ing into  consideration  the  paying  weight  carried,  in  proportion  to 
the  dead  weight  in  the  shape  of  rolling  stock ;  that  it  would  cost 
considerably  less  to  maintain,  in  consequence  of  the  less  weight 
to  bear,  and  the  smaller  tear  and  wear  of  materials — not  to  men- 
tion the  much  smaller  capital  that  was  required  to  form  a  line 
upon  the  narrow  gauge  than  upon  the  broad — the  latter  requiring 
more  land,  wider  bridges  and  tunnels,  broader  embankments  and 
viaducts,  heavier  rails,  chairs  and  sleepers,  and  more  expensive 


IMPORTANCE    OF    A    UNIFORM    GAUGE.  375 

engines  and  carriages.  But  liis  principal  objection  was,  that  by 
forming  the  Great  Western  line  on  an  exceptional  gauge,  the 
proprietors  of  the  undertaking  were  virtually  closing  it  against 
the  public  traffic  from  other  parts  of  the  kingdom,  and  rendering 
it  a  mere  provincial  railway  or  by-way,  instead  of  part  of  a  great 
national  system.  He  would  not  believe,  with  Mr.  Brunei,  that 
railways  were  to  be  confined  to  particular  districts,  but  he  held 
that,  before  long,  they  must  become  the  universal  high-roads  as 
well  as  by-roads  for  both  goods  and  passengers ;  and  that  any 
break  m  the  continuity  of  the  system  by  a  difterence  of  gauge, 
would  seriously  detract  from  those  great  public  adA^antages  which 
their  general  adoption  might  reasonably  be  expected  to  confer. 
The  contrary  views,  advocated  with  so  much  persuasiveness  by 
Mr.  Brunei,  unhappily  prevailed  with  his  directors ;  and  a  sub- 
ject fruitful  in  contentions  and  controversies  was  thus  introduced 
into  the  railway  woi'ld. 

AVhen  the  proprietors,  however,  observed  the  enormous  ex- 
pense that  was  involved  in  carrying  out  INIr.  Brunei's  designs, 
they  became  alarmed,  and  at  length  dissatisfied  ;  and  they  invited 
Mr.  Robert  Stephenson  to  examine  and  report  upon  the  new 
gauge.  He  declined,  on  the  ground  that  his  opinion  was  already 
known  to  be  strongly  unfavorable,  on  which  Mr.  Nicholas  Wood 
and  Mr.  Hawkshaw  were  called  upon  to  make  an  investigation 
into  the  subject.  This  they  did  in  a  very  able  manner,  Mr. 
Hawkshaw's  report  being  particularly  clear  and  decisive.  Their 
opinion  was  against  the  new  gauge.  Nevertheless,  the  majority 
of  the  proprietors  determined  to  support  Mr.  Brunei,  and  to  carry 
out  his  experiment  to  an  issue.  The  Great  Western  road  was 
formed,  and  set  to  work  with  the  aid  of  George  Stephenson's 
locomotives  ;  and  the  public  waited  the  result  of  the  new  system. 

Its  inconvenience  was  not  felt  so  long  as  the  Great  Western 
line  remained  in  the  position  anticipated  by  Mr.  Brunei ;  but 
when,  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  years,  railways  on  the  narrow 
gauge  mot  it  at  various  points,  and  a  break  of  continuity  occur- 


376  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

red,  involving  the  change  of  carnages  both  for  passengers  and 
goods,  it  was  felt  to  be  a  great  public  nuisance,  loudly  calling  for  a 
remedy. 

The  same  mistake  was  committed  on  the  Eastern  Counties 
Railway,  on  which  a  gauge  of  five  feet  had  been  adopted,  Mr. 
Braithwaite,  the  engineer,  being  of  opinion  that  an  increase  of 
three  and  a  half  inches  in  the  width  of  his  line,  would  give  him 
better  space  for  the  machinery  of  his  locomotive.  But  when  the 
northern  and  eastern  extension  of  the  same  line  was  formed, 
which  was  to  work  into  the  narrow  gauge  system  of  the  Midland 
Railway,  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson,  its  new  engineer,  strongly  re- 
commended the  directors  of  the  Eastern  Counties  line  to  alter 
their  gauge  accordingly,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  uniformity  ; 
and  they  wisely  adopted  his  recommendation.  Mr.  Braithwaite 
himself  afterwards  justified  the  wisdom  of  this  step,  and  stated 
that  he  considered  the  narrow  gauge  "  infinitely  superior  to  any 
other,"  more  especially  for  passenger  traffic* 

The  Great  Western  Company,  however,  would  not  adopt  a 
similar  step  ;  they  held  by  the  superiority  of  their  gauge.  The 
Company  had  invested  a  vast  sum  of  money  in  constructing  then- 
line,  and  perhaps  thought  it  was  too  late  to  remedy  the  admitted 
inconvenience  of  the  want  of  continuity.  The  Birmingham 
manufacturers  were  the  first  to  experience  its  evils,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  break  of  gauge  at  Gloucester,  which  involved 
great  delay  and  loss  from  the  transfer  of  goods.  In  1844  they 
held  a  public  meeting  on  the  subject,  and  protested  against  it ''  as 
a  commercial  evil  of  the  first  magnitude."  This  formed  the  com- 
mencement of  "  The  Battle  of  the  Gauges."  In  the  following 
Eession  of  Parliament,  the  London  and  Birmingham  and  Great 
Western  Companies  were  competitors  for  the  supply  of  railroad 
accommodation  to  the  country  between  Oxford  and  Wolverhamp- 
ton. The  Board  of  Trade  reported  against  the  Great  Western 
extensions,  on  account  of  the  break  of  gauge.     The  House  of 

*  Evidence  before  the  Gauge  Commission,  1845. 


North- Western   Rail'wasr  Train. 


BATTLE  OF  THE  GAUGES.  377 

Commons,  however,  stepped  in  and  reversed  the  decision,  deter- 
mining nothing.  Mr.  Cobden  then  moved  for  a  roj^al  commission 
to  ascertain  "  whether,  in  future  private  acts  for  the  construction 
of  railways,  provision  ought  to  be  made  for  securing  a  uniform 
gauge ;  and  whether  it  would  be  expedient  and  practicable  to 
take  measures  to  bring  railways  already  constructed,  or  in  pro- 
gress of  construction,  into  uniformity  of  gauge."  The  address 
was  unanimously  voted ;  and  a  commission  was  accordingly  ap- 
pointed, before  which  the  principal  engineers  and  railway  men  of 
the  day  were  examined  at  great  length.  In  1846,  they  reported 
substantially  against  the  broad,  and  in  favor  of  the  narrow,  as 
the  futui'e  national  gauge  of  British  railways.  They  also  ex- 
pressed their  opinion  as  to  the  desirableness  of  adopting  some 
equitable  means  of  producing  an  entire  uniformity  of  gauge  on 
the  lines  already  constructed.  Mr.  George  Stephenson  was  not 
examined  before  the  Gauge  Commission,  having  by  that  time 
(1845)  in  a  great  measure  retii-ed  from  the  active  pursuit  of  his 
profession ;  but  he  was  ably  represented  by  his  son,  whose  evi- 
dence in  favor  of  the  superiority  of  the  gauge  of  railways  which 
had  been  virtually  settled  by  his  father,  was  complete  and  con- 
clusive. 

Eveiy  day's  successive  experience  has  proved  that  the  Ste- 
phenson gauge  is  sufficient  for  all  purposes  of  public  traffic,  while 
it  is,  unquestionably,  the  most  economical.  Foreign  engineers, 
who  were  not  in  the  slightest  degree  trammeled  by  existing  lines, 
laid  down  the  narrow  gauge  in  Belgium,  in  France,  in  Germany, 
and  in  Italy.  Mr.  Brunei  was  the  engineer  of  the  Genoa  to 
Turin  Railway ;  and  there  he  had  adopted  the  narrow  gauge, 
with  a  view  to  the  public  convenience,  as  well  as  the  interests 
of  the  undertaking  itself.  And  the  same  considerations  wiU, 
doubtless,  sooner  or  later,  induce  the  Great  Western  Company 
to  place  itself  m  connection  with  the  national  railway  system  of 


378  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

England,  instead  of  remaining,  as  at  present,  comparatively  iso- 
lated.* 

Another  favorite  idea  of  the  Fast  School  of  Engineers,  was,  as 
already  mentioned,  the  substitution  of  atmospheric  pressure  for 
locomotive  steam  power  in  the  ■working  of  railways.  The  idea 
of  obtaining  motion  by  atmospheric  pressure  originated  with  Pa- 
pin,  the  French  engineer ;  but  it  slept  until  revived  by  Mr.  Med- 
hurst,  in  1810,  who  published  a  pamphlet  to  prove  the  practica- 
bility of  conveying  letters  and  goods  by  air.  Li  1824,  Mr.  Yal- 
lance  of  Brighton,  took  out  a  patent  for  projecting  passengers 
through  a  tube  large  enough  to  contain  a  train  of  carriages  ;  the 
tube  being  previously  exhausted  of  its  atmospheric  air.  The 
same  idea  was  afterwards  taken  up,  in  1835,  by  Mr.  Pinkus,  an 
ingenious  American.  Scientific  gentlemen.  Dr.  Lardner  and  Mr. 
Clegg,  amongst  others,  advocated  the  plan,  and  an  association 
was  formed  to  carry  it  into  effect.  Shares  were  created,  and 
18,000?.  raised;  and  a  model  apparatus  was  exhibited  in  London. 
Mr.  Vignolles  took  his  friend  Mr.  Stephenson  to  see  the  model ; 
and  after  carefully  examining  it,  he  observed  emphatically,  "  It 
wonH  do :  it  is  only  the  fixed  engines  and  ropes  over  again,  in 
another  form."  lie  did  not  think  the  principle  would  stand  the 
test  of  practice,  and  he  objected  to  the  mode  of  applying  the 
principle.  "Would  it  pay?  He  thought  not.  After  all,  it  was 
only  a  modification  of  the  stationary-engine  plan ;  and  every 
day's  experience  was  proving  that  fixed  engines  could  not  com- 
pete with  locomotives  in  point  of  efficiency  and  economy.     He 

*  In  Ireland,  a  peculiar  gauge  of  five  feet  three  inches  has  been  adopted.  The  Irish 
Railway  Commission  did  some  remarkable  things  in  its  day.  Amongst  others,  it  recom- 
mended a  gauge  of  sis  feet  two  inches  ;  how  they  arrived  at  that  precise  width,  no  one  can 
tell.  The  Ulster  Railway  was  laid  down  for  twenty -five  miles  on  this  gauge,  whilst  the 
Drogheda  line,  which  ran  from  Dublin  into  the  Ulster  Railway,  was  laid  down  five  feet 
two  inches  in  width.  General  Paslcy  was  appealed  to,  and  after  consulting  all  the  leading 
authorities  as  to  the  proper  gauge,  he  struck  an  act  rage,  and  arrived  at  five  feet  three 
inches,  which  is  now  the  Irish  gauge. 


THE   ATMOSPHERIC    RAILWAY.  379 

stood  by  the  locomotive  engine  ;  and  subsequent  experience  proved 
that  he  was  right. 

Messrs.  Clegg  and  Samuda  afterwards,  in  1840,  patented  their 
jilan  of  an  atmospheric  railway ;  and  they  publicly  tested  its 
working  on  an  unfinished  portion  of  the  West  London  Railway. 
The  results  of  the  experiment  were  so  satisfactory  that  the  direc- 
tors of  the  Dublin  and  Kingstown  line  adopted  it  between  Kings- 
town and  Dalkey.  The  London  and  Croydon  Company  also 
adopted  the  atmospheric  principle ;  and  their  line  was  opened  in 
1845.  Great  was  the  popularity  of  the  atmospheric  system ;  and 
still  George  Stephenson  said,  "  It  won't  do ;  its  only  a  giracrack." 
Engineers  of  distinction  said  he  was  prejudiced,  and  that  he 
looked  upon  the  locomotive  as  a  pet  child  of  his  own.  "  Wait  a 
little,"  he  replied,  "  and  you  will  see  that  I  am  right." 

Mr.  Brunei  approved  of  the  atmospheric  system ;  and  had  not 
his  invention  of  the  broad  gauge  proved  him  to  be  a  man  of 
genius  ?  Mr.  Cubitt,  Mr.  Vignolles,  and  Mr.  James  Walker,  also 
men  of  great  eminence,  Dr.  Lardner,  and  many  others  equally 
distinguished,  as  well  as  the  Council  of  the  Institute  of  Civil  En- 
gineers, approved  of  the  atmospheric  railway ;  and  therefore  it 
was  becoming  pretty  clear  that  the  locomotive  system  was  about 
to  be  snuffed  out.  "  Not  so  fast,"  said  Mr.  Stephenson.  "  Let 
us  wait  to  see  if  it  will  pay."  He  never  believed  it  would.  It 
was  ingenious,  clever,  scientific,  and  all  that ;  but  railways  wei-e 
commercial  enterprises,  not  toys  ;  and  if  the  atmospheric  railway 
could  not  work  to  a  profit,  it  would  not  do.  Considered  in  this 
light,  he  even  went  so  far  as  to  call  it  "  a  great  humbug." 

No  one  can  say  that  the  atmospheric  railway  had  not  a  fair 
trial.  The  government  engineer.  General  Pasley,  did  for  it  what 
had  never  been  done  for  the  locomotive — he  reported  in  its  favor, 
whereas  a  former  government  engineer,  Mr.  Telford,  had  infer- 
entially  reported  against  the  use  of  locomotive  power  on  railways. 
The  House  of  Commons  had  reported  in  favor  of  the  use  of  the 
steam-engine  on  common  roads ;  and  yet  the  railway  locomotive 


380  LIFE  OF   GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

had  vitality  enough  in  it  to  live  through  all.  "  Nothing  will  beat 
it,"  said  George  Stephenson,  "  for  efficiency  in  all  weathers,  for 
economy  in  drawing  loads  of  average  weight,  and  for  power  and 
speed  as  occasion  may  require." 

The  atmospheric  system  was  fairly  and  fully  tried,  and  it  was 
found  wanting.  It  was  admitted  to  be  an  exceedingly  elegant 
mode  of  applying  power ;  its  devices  were  very  skillful,  and  its 
mechanism  was  most  ingenious.  But  it  was  costly,  irregular  in 
action,  and,  consequently,  not  to  be  depended  upon.  At  best,  it 
was  but  a  modification  of  the  stationary-engine  system,  which 
experience  had  proved  to  be  so  expensive  that  it  was  gradually 
being  abandoned  in  favor  of  locomotive  power.  In  fact,  Mr. 
Stephenson's  first  verdict,  "It  won't  do,"  proved  correct ;  and,  by 
the  end  of  1848,  the  whole  of  the  atmospheric  tubes  were  pulled 
up  —  including  Mr.  Brunei's  immense  tube  on  the  South  Devon 
Railway* — to  make  room  for  the  locomotive  engine. 

About  the  year  1840,  the  fast  school  propounded  another  set 
of  views  respecting  railways,  which  were  entirely  opposed  to  the 
practice  and  experience  of  Mr.  Stephenson.  They  promulgated 
the  idea  that  undulating  railways  of  uneven,  and  even  severe 
gradients,  were  as  favorable  for  working  as  flat  lines.  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson, throughout  his  professional  career,  was  the  unvarying 
advocate  of  level  railways,  in  preference  to  more  direct  but  un- 
even lines.  His  practice  was  to  secure  a  road  as  nearly  as  possible 
on  a  level,  following  the  course  of  the  valleys  when  he  could  do 
so,  and  preferring  to  go  round  a  difficulty  rather  than  to  tunnel 
through  it  or  run  over  it — often  making  a  considerable  circuit  in 
order  to  obtain  good  workable  gradients.  He  studied  so  to  lay 
out  his  lines,  that  minerals  and  merchandise,  as  well  as  passengers, 
could  be  hauled  along  them  in  heavy  loads,  at  a  comparatively 
small  expenditure  of  locomotive  power.  He  saw  clearly  that  the 
longer  flat  line  would  eventually  beat  the  shorter  line  of  steep 

*  During  the  last  half  year  of  the  atmospheric  experiment  on  this  line,  there  waa  an 
expenditure  of  2,487i.  beyond  the  gross  income  of  26.782/.,  or  about  9Ji  per  cent. 


THE    FAST    ENGINEERS  381 

gradients,  as  respected  paying  qualities.  It  was  perfectly  clear 
to  him  that  there  must  necessarily  be  a  great  waste  of  power  in 
overcoming  the  irregularities  of  a  heavy  line.  Thus,  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson had  ascertained,  by  exjieriraents  made  at  Killingworth 
many  years  before,  that  the  locomotive  works  at  only  half  its 
power  whei'e  it  has  a  rising  gradient  of  1  in  260  to  overcome; 
and  when  the  gradient  is  so  high  as  1  in  100,  not  less  than  three- 
fourths  of  the  propelling  power  of  the  engine  is  sacrificed  in  as- 
cending the  acclivity.  JVIi'.  Stephenson  urged  that,  after  all,  the 
power  of  the  locomotive  Avas  but  limited ;  and,  although  he  had 
done  more  to  increase  its  working  qualities  than  any  other  engi- 
neer, it  provoked  him  to  find  that  every  improvement  which  he 
made  in  it  was  neutralized  by  the  steep  gradients  Avhich  the  fast 
school  of  engineers  were  setting  it  to  overcome.  On  one  occa- 
sion, when  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson  stated  before  a  Parliamentary 
Committee  that  every  improvement  which  they  were  making  in 
the  locomotive  was  being  rendered  virtually  nugatoiy  by  the  difii- 
cult  and  almost  impracticable  gradients  proposed  upon  so  many 
of  the  new  lines,  his  father,  on  his  leaving  the  witness  box,  went 
up  to  him  and  said,  "  Robert,  you  never  spoke  truer  words  than 
those  in  all  your  life." 

In  the  case  of  passenger  lines,  where  the  load  is  light,  and 
time  an  object  of  importance,  short  hues  of  comparatively  heavy 
gi-adients  are  practicable — thanks  to  the  great  power  which  Mr. 
Stephenson  and  his  son  have  given  to  the  engine ;  but  when  the 
traffic  consists,  in  any  considerable  proportion,  of  minerals  or 
merchandise,  experience  has  amply  proved  the  wisdom  of  Mr. 
Stephenson's  preference  for  level  lines,  though  of  greater  length. 

But  engineers  Avere  growing  bolder,  and  ambitious  to  do  greater 
things.  Among  others.  Dr.  Lardner,  Avho  had  originally  been 
somewhat  skeptical  about  the  powers  of  the  locomotive,  now  pro- 
mulgated the  idea  that  a  railway  constructed  with  rising  and  fall- 
ing gradients  would  be  practically  as  easy  to  work  as  a  line  per- 
fectly level.     Mr.  Badnell  Avent  beyond  him,  for  he  held  that  an 


382  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

undulating  railway  was  even  much  better  than  a  level  one  for 
purposes  of  working.*  For  a  time,  this  theory  found  favor,  and 
the  "  undulating  system  "  was  extensively  adopted ;  but  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson never  ceased  to  inveigh  against  it ;  and  experience  has 
amply  proved  that  his  judgment  was  correct. 

The  engineers  of  the  fast  school  were  also  becoming  increas- 
ingly sanguine  about  the  speed  of  railway  traveling.  Dr.  Lard- 
ner  considered  that  an  average  rate  of  a  hundred  miles  an  hour 
might  be  attained  by  the  locomotive  upon  a  railway,  though  he 
afterwards  found  cause  to  alter  his  opinion.  Mr.  Stephenson, 
who  only  a  few  years  before  was  considered  insane  for  suggesting 
a  speed  of  twelve  miles  an  hour,  was  now  thought  behind  the 
age  when  he  recommended  that  the  rate  of  railway  traveling 
should  not  exceed  forty  miles  an  hour.  He  said,  "  I  do  not  like 
either  forty  or  fifty  miles  an  hour  upon  any  line ;  I  think  it  is  an 
unnecessary  speed ;  and  if  there  is  danger  upon  a  railway,  it  is 
high  velocity  that  creates  it."  f  He  had,  indeed,  constructed  for 
the  Great  Western  Railway  an  engine  capable  of  i-unning  fifty 
miles  an  hour  with  a  load,  and  eighty  miles  without  one.  But 
he  never  was  in  favor  of  a  hurricane  speed  of  this  sort,  believing 
it  could  only  be  accomplished  at  an  unnecessary  increase  both  of 
danger  and  expense.  On  this  subject,  he  afterwards  observed, 
"  The  first  time  I  went  to  Parliament  to  give  evidence  on  the 
locomotive  engine,  when  I  stated  that  I  would  make  that  machine 
travel  at  twelve  miles  an  hour,  I  was  thought  to  be  mad.  You 
will  be  surprised  when  I  tell  you  that,  during  my  recent  examin- 
ation before  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  the 
management  of  railways,  I  stated,  in  my  opinion,  that  the  speed 
of  the  locomotive  should  not  exceed  forty  miles  an  hour.  I  have 
been  censured  by  many  for  giving  that  opinion.  It  is  true  that 
I  have  said  the  engine  might  be  made  to  travel  100  miles  an 
hour ;  but  I  always  put  a  qualification  on  this,  namely,  as  to  what 

*  Treatise  on  Railway  Improvements.    By  Mr.  Ricliard  Badnell,  C.  E. 
t  Evivlence  before  the  Select  Committee  on  Railways,  27th  May,  18il. 


SELF-ACTING    BRAKES.  383 

speed  would  best  suit  the  public.  I  assure  you  I  have  been  buf- 
feted about  in  Parliament  not  a  little  on  this  question  of  railway 
speed."*  Although  Mr.  Stephenson  occasionally  ''girded"  at 
Mr.  Bmnel  and  his  high  velocities,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
determination  of  the  latter  had  the  effect  of  spurring  on  the  Ste- 
phensons  to  exert  their  ingenuity  to  the  utmost  in  peifecting  the 
narrow-gauge  locomotive,  and  bringing  it  to  tlie  highest  possible 
rate  of  speed.  By  the  year  1845,  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson  had 
been  enabled  to  construct  the  fastest  locomotive  that  had  yet  run 
upon  any  railway — the  celebrated  "  A  "  engine — which  perform- 
ed the  forty-five  miles  between  York  and  Darlington,  with  a  train 
of  seven  carriages  behind  it,  in  about  forty-seven  minutes  ! 

Mr.  Stephenson's  evidence  before  the  Select  Committee  of 
1841  bore  chiefly  upon  the  safer  working  of  railways,  and  the 
means  by  which  they  might  be  improved.  One  of  his  suggest 
tions  was  to  the  effect  that  a  system  of  self-acting  brakes  should 
be  adopted,  so  that  a  train  might  be  more  speedily  and  effectually 
stopped  than  by  the  ordinary  system.  He  himself,  he  stated,  had 
invented  for  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway  a  carriage- 
brake,  which  he  had  not  patented,  althougli,  he  understood,  a 
patent  for  a  similar  machine  had  since  been  taken  out.  He  pro- 
posed to  fix  to  every  carriage  a  brake  so  constructed  that,  on  the 
moving  power  of  the  engine  being  taken  off,  every  carriage 
should  be  brought  into  a  state  of  sledge,  and  the  rolling  motion 
of  the  wheels  thus  interrupted.  Mr.  Stephenson  would  also  have 
these  brakes  worked  by  the  guard,  by  means  of  a  connecting 
lever  running  along  the  whole  of  the  carriages,  by  which  they 
should  at  one  and  the  same  time  be  thrown  out  of  gear.  He 
also  suggested,  as  an  additional  means  of  safety,  that  the  signals 
should  be  self-acting,  and  worked  by  the  engines  as  they  passed 
along  the  line. 

In  opposing  the  views  of  the  fast  school  of  engineers,  as  to  the 
alteration  of  the  gauge,  the  employment  of  atmospheric  pressure, 

*  Speech  at  Bclper  Mechanics'  Institute,  6th  July,  1S41. 


384  LIFE  or   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

the  formation  of  "undulating"  lines,  and  the  increase  of  speed, 
IVIr.  Stephenson  was  actuated  by  a  just  regard  to  the  commercial 
part  of  the  question.  He  had  no  desire  to  build  up  a  reputation 
at  the  expense  of  railway  shareholders,  nor  to  obtain  engineering 
eclat  by  making  "ducks  and  drakes"  of  their  money.  He  was 
persuaded  that,  in  order  to  secure  the  practical  success  of  rail- 
ways, they  must  be  so  laid  out  as  not  only  to  prove  of  decided 
public  utility,  but  also  to  be  worked  economically  and  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  their  proprietors.  They  were  not  Government  roads, 
but  private  ventures  —  in  foct,  commercial  speculations.  He 
therefore  endeavored  to  render  them  commercially  profitable ; 
and  he  repeatedly  declared  that  if  he  did  not  believe  they  could 
be  "  made  to  pay,"  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  them.  He 
frequently  refused  to  act  as  the  engineer  for  lines  which  he 
thought  would  not  prove  remunerative,  or  when  he  considered 
the  estimates  too  low.*  He  was  not  ambitious  to  be  thought  a 
railway  genius,  but  rather  to  be  regarded  as  the  engineer  of  use- 
ful and  profitable  railways ;  and  the  success  which  attended  his 
arrangements  fully  proved  the  solidity  of  his  judgment  in  this 
respect. 

*  In  his  evidence  on  the  Great  Western  Bill,  Mr.  Stephenson  said :  "I  made  out  an 
estimate  for  the  Hartlepool  Railway,  -which  they  returned  on  account  of  its  being  too 
high,  but  I  declined  going  to  Parliament  with  a  lower  estimate."  Another  engineer  was 
employed.  Then  again:  "I  was  consulted  about  a  line  from  Edinburgh  to  Glasgow. 
The  directors  challied  out  a  line  and  sent  it  to  me,  and  I  told  them  I  could  not  support 
it  in  that  case."  Another  engineer  was  consequently  employed  to  carry  out  the  line 
which  Mr.  Stephenson  could  not  conscientiously  advocate. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

MR.  STEPHENSON'S  PARTIAL  RETIREMENT  FROM  THE  PROFESSION— PUBLIC 
RECOGNITION  OF  HIS  SERVICES— AUTO-BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

The  more  laborious  part  of  Mr.  Steplienson's  career  in  con- 
nectioa  with  railways  was  now  over ;  and  he  frequently  expressed 
a  desire  to  retire  from  its  troubles  and  anxieties  into  private  life. 
At  Blackburn,  in  1840,  he  publicly  intimated  his  intention  of 
retiring  from  the  more  active  pursuit  of  his  profession ;  and, 
shortly  after,  he  proceeded  to  resign  the  charge  of  several  of  the 
railways  of  which  he  was  the  chief  engineer.  He  was  succeeded, 
on  the  Midland  and  York  systems,  by  his  son  Robert ;  on  the 
Chester  lines,  by  ]\Ir.  John  Dixon  ;  on  the  Manchester  and  Leeds 
lines,  by  Mr.  Hawkshaw ;  and  on  the  other  railways,  chiefly  by 
his  own  pupils — all  of  whom,  from  his  son  downwards,  did  him 
honor. 

He  had  removed  his  home  from  Alton  Grange  to  Tapton 
House,  in  August,  1838 ;  but  the  extent  of  his  railway  engage- 
ments had,  up  to  this  time,  prevented  his  enjoyment  of  its  com- 
forts and  retirement.  Tapton  House  is  a  large,  roomy  brick 
mansion,  beautifully  situated  amidst  woods,  upon  a  commanding 
eminence,  about  a  mile  to  the  northeast  of  the  town  of  Chester- 
field. Green  fields  dotted  with  fine  trees  slope  away  from  the 
house  in  all  directions.  The  suri'ounding  country  is  exceedingly 
varied  and  undulating.  North  and  south  the  eye  ranges  over  a 
vast  extent  of  lovely  scenery ;  and  on  the  west,  looking  over  the 
25  (385) 


386  LIFE   OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSOX. 

tovrn  of  Chesterfield,  with  its  fine  church  and  crooked  spire,  the 
extensive  range  of  the  Derbyshire  hills  bounds  the  distance.  The 
IVIidland  Railway  skirts  the  western  edge  of  the  park  in  a  deep 
rock  cutting,  and  the  shrill  whistle  of  the  locomotive  sounds  near 
at  hand  as  the  trains  speed  past.  The  gardens  and  pleasure 
grounds  adjoining  the  house  were  in  a  very  neglected  state  when 
Mr.  Stephenson  first  went  to  Tapton  ;  and  he  promised  himself, 
when  he  had  secured  rest  and  leisure  from  business,  that  he  would 
put  a  new  lace  upon  both.  The  first  improvement  he  made,  was 
in  cutting  a  woodland  footpath  up  the  hillside,  by  which  he  at  the 
same  time  added  a  beautiful  feature  to  the  park,  and  secured  a 
shorter  road  to  the  Chesterfield  station.  But  it  was  some  years 
before  he  found  time  to  carry  into  effect  his  contemplated  im- 
provements in  the  adjoining  gardens  and  pleasure  grounds. 

He  was  a  man  of  so  active  a  temperament,  had  so  long  been 
accustomed  to  laborious  pursuits,  and  felt  himself  still  so  full  of 
work,  that  he  could  not  at  once  settle  down  into  the  habit  of 
quietly  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  industry.  There  was,  as  we 
have  seen,  almost  a  complete  lull  in  the  railway  world  towards 
the  end  of  1837,  principally  caused  by  the  monetary  pressure ; 
and  this  continued  for  several  years.  He  had,  for  some  time 
previously,  been  turning  over  in  his  mind  the  best  mode  of  em- 
ploying the  facilities  which  railways  afforded  for  the  transport  of 
coals  to  profitable  markets ;  and,  after  careful  consideration,  he 
determined  to  enter  as  a  master  miner  into  the  trade  with  which 
he  had  been  familiar  from  his  boyhood.  Accordingly,  early  in 
1838,  conjointly  with  other  parties,  he  had  entered  on  a  lease  of 
the  Clay  Cross  estate,  for  the  purpose  of  working  the  coal  which 
was  known  to  exist  there.  He  had  an  impression  that  a  ready 
sale  might  be  found  for  this  coal  at  the  stations  of  the  Midland 
and  London  and  Birmingham  Railways,  as  far  even  as  London 
itself.  He  invited,  one  day,  to  his  house  at  Tapton  a  small  party 
of  gentlemen,  consisting  of  Mr.  Glyn,  Sir  Joshua  Walmsley,  Mr. 
Hudson,  and  Mr.  Sandars,  to  take  their  opinion  as  to  the  qualities 


TAPTON  AND  CLAY  CROSS.  387 

of  the  Derbyshire  coal  for  household  purposes.  The-  coals  were 
heaped  upon  the  fire,  and  they  burned  so  well,  that  all  the  gen- 
tlemen concurred  in  the  opinion  that  a  ready  sale  might  be 
expected  for  coals  of  such  a  quality.  Thus  encouraged,  sinking 
operations  were  commenced,  a  rich  bed  of  coal  was  found,  and 
the  mineral  was  sent  to  market.  The  article,  however,  would 
not  sell  in  the  districts  of  the  Midland  Counties,  where  the  people 
had  been  accustomed  to  use  the  Staffordshire  coal — which  is  a 
much  freer  burning  coal — though  of  this  the  above  gentlemen, 
who  had  been  accustomed  only  to  the  use  of  bituminous  coal,  such 
as  that  of  the  Clay  Cross  colliery,  were  not  aware  when  they  so 
decidedly  pronounced  their  opinion  as  to  the  salable  qualities  of 
the  latter.  Then,  the  heavy  tolls  imposed  upon  coal  by  the  IVIid- 
land  Railway  Companies,  at  that  early  period,  so  enhanced  the 
price  of  the  article  when  conveyed  to  any  considerable  distance, 
that  its  sale  in  the  metropolis,  on  which  Mr.  Stephenson  had  in  a 
great  measure  relied,  also  proved  a  comparative  failure.  For 
some  years,  therefore,  the  Clay  Cross  inidertaking  did  not  prove 
successful ;  and  it  was  not  until  new  lines  of  railway  had  been 
made  between  the  north  and  the  south,  and  the  tolls  on  coal  were 
considerably  reduced,  that  the  owners  of  the  colliery  reaped  the 
fraits  of  their  enterprise. 

Mr.  Stephenson  was  not  merely  satisfied  with  the  Clay  Cross 
venture;  but  in  1841,  he  entered  into  a  contract  with  the  owners 
of  lands  in  the  townships  of  Tapton,  Brimington  and  Newbold 
for  the  purchase  of  the  whole  of  the  coal  thereunder,  and  com- 
menced mining  operations  there  also  on  an  extensive  scale.  At 
the  same  time,  he  erected  great  lime-works  close  to  tlie  Amber- 
gate  station  of  the  INIidland  Railway,  from  which,  when  in  full 
operation,  he  was  able  to  turn  out  upwards  of  200  tons  a  day. 
The  limestone  was  brought  on  a  tramway  from  the  viUage  of 
Crich,  about  two  or  three  miles  distant  from  the  kilns,  the  coal 
wherewith  to  burn  it  being  supplied  from  his  adjoining  Clay  Cross 
colliery.    The  works  were  on  a  scale  such  as  had  not  before  been 


388  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

attempted  by  any  private  individual  engaged  in  a  similar  trade ; 
and  their  success  amply  compensated  the  projector. 

Mr.  Stephenson's  comparative  retirement  from  the  profession 
of  railway  engineer,  led  many  persons  interested  in  railways  to 
moot  the  subject  of  presenting  him  with  a  testimonial,  in  consid- 
eration of  the  eminent  services  which  he  had  rendered  to  the 
public,  by  contributing  so  greatly  to  the  establishment  of  this  new 
power.  Railways  had  now  been  in  full  work  for  ten  years,  and, 
having  struggled  through  trials  and  difficulties  almost  unparal- 
leled, were  now  established  as  the  chief  mode  of  internal  commu- 
nication throughout  Great  Britain ;  they  had  also  been  largely 
adopted  by  Belgium,  France,  and  the  United  States.  Twenty- 
five  hundred  miles  of  railway,  almost  all  of  them  double  lines, 
had  been  laid  down  in  these  islands  alone,  connecting  all  the 
principal  towns  and  provinces  with  the  capital ;  joining  in  a  more 
close  and  intimate  union  the  various  branches  of  the  body  politic, 
commercial  and  literary,  with  that  great  centre.  Many  new  and 
important  branches  of  industry  had  been  entirely  created  by  this 
new  agency ;  and  a  stimulus  had  been  given  to  all  the  existing 
departments  of  trade,  as  well  as  to  the  development  of  the  boun- 
tiful resources  of  the  soil,  by  which  largely  increased  employment 
had  been  secured  to  the  laboring  classes.  Some  sixty  millions 
of  money  had  already  been  expended  in  forming  railways ;  and 
this  large  investment  was  now  returning  about  five  millions  yearly 
to  the  capitalists,  for  re-investment  and  further  extension  of  the 
system.  This  vast  iron  revolution  had  been  accomplished  in  a 
period  of  about  ten  years.  So  extraordinaiy  a  movement,  pow- 
erfully affecting  as  it  did  all  our  social  and  commercial  relations, 
and  coming  so  closely  home  to  the  interests  of  every  member  of 
the  community,  had  never  before  been  experienced  in  our  nation's 
history. 

George  Stephenson,  above  all  others,  had  been  the  zealous 
propagandist  of  this  great  change.  His  ingenuity  and  persever- 
ance had   made  the  railway  system  practicable.     His  zeal  and 


KECOGNITION    OF   HIS    SERVICES.  389 

devotion  had  secured  its  success.  What  more  natural  than  that 
some  public  mark  of  honor  should  be  conferred  upon  him  in 
recognition  of  his  wonderful  discoveiy  ?  for  such,  in  point  of  fact, 
it  was.  Had  he  been  a  Frenchman  or  a  Belgian,  the  honors  of 
the  State  would  have  been  showered  upon  him.  Had  he  invented 
a  shell  or  a  bullet  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Board  of  Ordnance, 
the  British  Government  might  have  recognized  him.  Perhaps, 
had  he  pointed  out  to  the  country  gentlemen  some  improved 
mode  of  patching  up  the  old  common  roads  and  preserving 
turnpike  trusts,  he  might  have  been  honored  and  rewarded  as 
Macadam  was.  But  who  would  noAV  venture  to  compare  the 
improver  of  turnpikes  with  the  inventor  of  railroads,  looking  at 
the  public  benefits  conferred  by  the  respective  systems  ?  Yet 
Mr.  Stephenson,  though  he  had  solved  the  great  social  problem 
of  rapid  and  easy  transit  from  place  to  place — the  subject  of  so 
much  parliamentary  inquiry  —  not  only  remained  without  any 
parliamentary  recognition  of  his  distinguished  public  services, 
but  almost  the  whole  of  his  professional  career  was  a  prolonged 
struggle  against  the  obstructiveness  of  the  legislature.  Certain  it 
is,  that  he  never  contemplated  receiving  any  reward  or  recogni- 
tion from  that  quarter.  Amidst  all  his  labors,  it  was  the  last 
thing  that  would  have  crossed  his  mind ;  and  it  is  well  that  our 
greatest  men  in  England  can  undertake  questions  of  public  utility, 
and  carry  them  to  a  successful  issue  in  the  face  of  stupendous 
difficulties,  without  the  stimulus  of  an  expected  medal  or  riband, 
or  any  Government  reward  or  recognition  whatsoever.  Mr. 
Stephenson  was,  however,  on  one  occasion,  offered  a  piece  of 
Government  patronage,  thus  recorded  by  his  son  : — "  I  remember 
my  father  once  refusing  to  accept  from  the  Government  what  they 
thought  a  piece  of  valuable  patronage  ;  and  it  was  almost,  if  not 
absolutely,  the  only  piece  of  patronage  they  ever  offered  him. 
It  was  the  appointment  of  a  walking  postman  between  Chester- 
field and  Chatsworth,  who  was   to  walk  eight  miles   there  and 


390  LIFE  OF   GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

eight  miles  back  every  day  with  the  letter-bags,  and  who  was  to 
receive  the  immense  stipend  of  twelve  shillings  a  week!"* 

A  movement  was  made  by  some  leading  railway  men,  in 
February,  1839,  under  the  presidency  of  Alderman  Thompson, 
M.  P.,  to  offer  to  Mr.  Stephenson  some  public  testimonial  in 
recognition  of  his  distinguished  services.  A  committee  was 
formed,  and  an  appeal  was  made  to  the  public  for  subscriptions. 

A  list  was  opened,  but  filled  slowly.  Many  other  engineers, 
who  had  been  his  pupils,  and  numerous  resident  engineers,  ivho 
had  superintended  the  execution  of  the  works  planned  by  him, 
had  received  public  recognition  of  their  services  in  many  forms. 
But  it  was,  perhaps,  felt,  that  Avhile  these  were  generally  of  a 
local  character,  it  was  fitting  that  the  testimonial  to  Mr.  Stephen- 
son, if  offered  at  all,  should  express,  in  some  measux-e,  the  grati- 
tude of  the  British  nation.  No  active  effort  was,  however,  made 
by  the  committee  calculated  to  evoke  any  such  result.  The 
scheme  then  dropped,  and  the  Stephenson  Testimonial  was  not 
resumed  for  several  years. 

But  although  no  testimonial  was  presented  to  him,  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson was  not  without  honor  amongst  his  fellow  citizens.  His 
name  was  everywhere  mentioned  with  admiration  and  respect. 
Thus  Sir  Robert  Peel,  in  the  address  delivered  by  him  on  open- 
ing the  public  library  and  reading-room  at  Tamworth,  promi- 
nently alluded  to  him  as  one  of  the  most  striking  proofs  that  the 
heights  of  science  are  not  inaccessible  to  even  the  humblest 
mechanic.  "Look  around,"  said  he,  "at  this  neighborhood. 
Look  in  this  very  town,  and  who  is  the  man  that  is  now  engaged 
in  extensive  works,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  coal  and  lime 
under  your  immmediate  command  ?  Mr.  Stei^henson,  the  engi- 
neer. Mr.  Stephenson,  I  am  assured,  worked  three  years  as  a 
boy  in  the  meanest  capacity  in  a  colliery  at  Newcastle.  He 
saved  100/.  by  mending  the  watches  of  his  fellow  workmen  for 

*  Reply  of  Robert  Stephenson,  Esq.,  M.  P.,  President  of  the  Institution  of  Ciyil  Engi- 
neers, to  Observations  in  the  Second  Report  of  the  Postmaster-General,  May  20th,  1856. 


VISITS    TO    mechanics'    INSTITUTES.  391 

half-a-crown  apiece;  and  he  devoted  that  100/.  to  provision  for 
his  indigent  parents,*  and  set  out  with  a  light  heart  and  con- 
science for  the  purpose  of  accumulating  more.  The  result  has 
been,  that  he  presents  a  daily  example  of  encouragement  to  our 
eyes,  and  is  brought  within  our  immediate  contemplation  in  this 
very  town." 

From  an  early  period  Mr.  Stephenson  manifested  a  lively  in- 
terest in  the  cause  of  Mechanics'  Institutes.  He  could  not  but 
remember  the  difficulties  which  he  had  early  encountered  in 
gathering  together  his  own  scientific  knowledge — the  want  of 
books  from  which  he  had  suffered,  and  the  miserable  character 
of  the  only  instruction  then  within  the  reach  of  the  working 
classes  in  the  smaller  towns  and  villages.  Since  his  youth,  how- 
ever, a  new  spirit  had  arisen  on  the  subject  of  popular  education. 
The  exertions  of  Bell  and  Lancaster  had  led  to  the  establishment 
of  greatly  improved  agencies  for  the  education  of  the  children  of 
the  poor ;  and  earnest  effoi-ts  were  also  being  made  to  admit  the 
adult  working  classes  to  the  benefits  of  elementary  and  scientific 
instruction  by  means  of  Mechanics'  Institutes.  There  were  thus 
few  manufacturing  towns  into  which  the  spirit  of  Birkbeck  and 
Brougham  had  not,  to  some  extent,  penetrated,  exhibiting  itself 
in  the  establishment  of  Working  Men's  Institutions,  with  theii' 
organization  of  classes,  lectures  and  libraries.  While  residing  at 
Newcastle  in  1824,  shortly  after  he  had  commenced  his  locomo- 
tive foundry  in  Forth  Street,  Mr.  Stephenson  was  requested  to 
preside  at  a  public  meeting  held  in  that  town  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  a  Mechanics'  Institute.  The  meeting  was  held ;  but 
George  Stephenson  was  a  man  comparatively  unknown  even  in 
Newcastle  at  that  time,  and  his  name  failed  to  summon  an  "in- 
fluential" attendance.     The  local  papers  scarcely  noticed  the  pro- 

*  This  is  not  quite  correct.  Although  Mr.  Stephenson  was  not  sparing  in  pecuniary- 
assistance  to  his  parents,  the  reason  for  his  early  thrift  and  industry  in  watch-cleaning 
was,  an  he  himself  stated,  that  he  might  be  able  to  send  his  son  to  school,  and  furnish 
him  with  the  elements  of  a  sound  education. 


392  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

ceedingg  ;  yet  the  Mechanics'  Institute  was  founded,  and  struggled 
into  existence.  Years  passed,  and  George  Stephenson  had  become 
a  famous  name.  He  had  estabhshed  a  new  power  in  the  world, 
which  the  greatest  were  ready  to  I'ecognizc.  Beyond  the  bounds 
of  his  own  country,  his  genius  was  acknowledged.  Belgium  had 
given  him  a  national  welcome,  and  King  Leopold  had  invested 
him  with  the  Order  of  Knighthood  of  that  kingdom.  It  was 
now,  therefore,  felt  to  be  no  small  honor  to  secure  Mr.  Stephen- 
son's presence  at  any  public  meetings  held  for  the  promotion  of 
popular  education.  Amongst  the  Mechanics'  Institutes  in  his 
immediate  neighborhood  at  Tapton,  were  those  of  Belper  and 
Chesterfield ;  and  at  their  soirees  he  was  a  frequent,  and  always 
a  highly  welcome,  visitoi*.  On  those  occasions  he  loved  to  tell 
them  of  the  difficulties  which  had  early  beset  him  through  want 
of  knowledge,  and  of  the  means  by  which  he  had  overcome  them 
—  always  placing  in  the  first  rank  perseverance.  This  was  his 
grand  text — persevere.  There  was  manhood  in  the  very 
word.  And  he  would  remind  them  of  their  unspeakable  advan- 
tages as  mechanics,  compared  with  the  workmen  of  his  early 
days.  They  had  books ;  but  he  remembered  the  time  "when  a 
good  library  of  books  would  have  been  woi-th  worlds  to  him." 

A  new  stimulus  was  given  to  the  Mechanics'  Institutes  of  Der- 
byshire in  1841,  by  the  adoption  of  visits  to  each  other  by  rail- 
way. The  civilizing  and  educating  influences  of  this  great 
machine  were  thus  carried  on  under  Mr.  Stephenson's  own  aus- 
pices, and  almost  at  his  very  door.  The  Mechanics'  Institution 
of  Belper  paid  a  visit,  three  hundred  strong,  to  that  of  Chester- 
field ;  and  in  a  few  weeks  the  latter  returned  the  visit  with 
interest.  On  both  occasions  Mr.  Stephenson  was  the  hero  of  the 
day.  One  after  another  the  speakers  acknowledged  that  to  him, 
the  most  distinguished  mechanic  living,  they  had  been  indebted 
for  the  improved  means  of  transit,  which  enabled  them  thus  to 
hold  intercourse  with  each  other.  Mr.  Stephenson  was,  of  course, 
a  speaker  on  both  occasions,  and  threw  out  many  shrewd  re- 


ADVICE  TO  YOUNG  MECHANICS.  393 

marks  and  suggestions  for  the  consideration  of  his  friends,  the 
young  mechanics  present.  After  describing  the  great  difficulties 
which  he  had  to  encounter  in  connection  with  the  locomotive,  he 
said,  "  but  that  has  been  little,  compared  with  the  difficulty  I  have 
had  in  the  management  of  man.  I  have  found  the  engineering 
of  railways  to  be  light  work,  compared  with  the  engineering  of 
men."  A  favorite  object  of  his  observations  at  those  mechanics' 
meetings  was,  the  properties  of  the  crank,  and  the  mistakes 
which  mechanics  had  so  often  made  with  respect  to  it.  At  Ches- 
terfield he  concluded  with  a  piece  of  sound  practical  advice :  "As 
an  encouragement  to  young  mechanics,  I  may  state  to  them,  that 
I  commenced  my  mechanical  career  Avith  very  scanty  means ; 
and  by  close  ajiplication  and  study,  I  have  succeeded  in  establish- 
ing a  manufactory  which  sends  machinery  to  almost  every  king- 
dom in  Europe.  I  may  add,  that  nothing  conduces,  in  my  opin- 
ion, so  much  to  the  success  in  life  of  a  thinking  mechanic  as 
sobriety,  coupled  with  a  steady  and  persevering  application  to  his 
employment ;  never,  however,  in  the  midst  of  all  his  engagements, 
forgetting  to  contribute,  by  every  means  in  his  power,  to  the  com- 
fort of  his  wife  and  family."  At  both  Belper  and  Chesterfield, 
Mr.  Stephenson  invited  the  members,  at  any  time  when  they 
thought  they  had  found  out  any  new  invention,  to  bring  their  dis- 
covery to  him,  and  he  would  always  be  ready  to  give  them  his 
opinion  and  assistance.  This  invitation  got  into  the  newspapers, 
and  the  consequence  was,  that  he  was  very  shortly  flooded  with 
letters,  soliciting  his  opinion  as  to  inventions  which  his  corres- 
pondents thought  they  had  made.  He  soon  found  that  he  had 
set  himself  a  formidable  task,  and  had  roused  the  speculative 
and  inventive  faculties  of  the  working  men  of  nearly  all  England. 
He  was,  however,  ready  on  all  occasions  to  give  his  advice ;  and 
he  frequently  subscribed  sums  of  money  to  enable  struggling  in- 
ventors to  bring  their  schemes  to  a  fair  trial,  when  he  considered 
them  to  be  useful  and  feasible. 

Though  Mr.  Stephenson  had  retired  from  the  more  active  pur- 


394  LIFE   OF    GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

suit  of  Lis  profession,  he  was,  in  18-44,  appointed  engineer  to  the 
Whitehaven  and  Maryport  Railway,  in  conjunction  with  his  friend 
and  former  assistant,  Mr.  John  Dixon.  The  hne  was  actively 
promoted  by  Lord  Lowther  and  the  members  for  the  county,  and 
]Mr.  Stephenson  consented  to  act — his  name  being  regarded  as  a 
tower  of  strength  in  that  district.  This,  however,  was  the  only 
new  project  with  which  he  was  connected  in  that  year. 

He  Avas  also,  about  the  same  time,  elected  chairman  of  the 
Yarmouth  and  Norwich  Railway,  a  line  in  which  he  took  much 
interest,  and  had  invested  a  good  deal  of  money.  At  the  meet- 
ings of  the  Company,  he  confessed  that  he  felt  he  was  more  in 
his  place  as  a  railway  engineer  than  as  a  railway  chairman ;  but 
as  he  and  his  friends  held  about  three-fourths  of  the  shares  in 
the  concern,  he  felt  bound  to  stand  by  it  until  its  completion, 
which  was  effected  in  April,  1844.  This  line,  like  most  others, 
was  greatly  fleeced  by  the  land  owners  of  the  district,  who  sought 
to  extort  the  most  exorbitant  pi'ices  for  their  land.  One  instance 
may  be  cited.  A  Mr.  Tuck  claimed  9000/.  as  compensation  for 
severance,  in  addition  to  the  very  high  price  allowed  for  the  land 
itself.  After  a  careful  investigation  had  been  made  by  a  jury, 
they  awarded  850/.,  or  less  than  one-tenth  of  the  amount  claimed. 
One  of  the  witnesses  examined  on  the  part  of  the  land  owners, 
was  Mr.  R.  H.  Guniey,  the  banker  of  Norwich,  who  exhibited  a 
hatred  of  railways  equalled  only  by  that  of  Colonel  Sibthorpe. 
On  his  cross-examination  he  said :  ''  I  have  never  traveled  by 
rails ;  I  am  an  enemy  to  them ;  I  have  opposed  the  Norwich 
Railway ;  I  have  left  a  sum  of  money  in  my  will  to  oppose  rail- 
roads ! "  Another  witness,  a  Mr.  Driver,  admitted  that,  on  a 
previous  occasion,  he  had  estimated  the  value  of  certain  land  re- 
quired for  a  railway  at  from  35,000/.  to  40,000/.,  for  which  a  jury 
had  awarded  only  2,000/.  Such  was  the  extortion  to  which  those 
early  railways  were  subjected,  and  which,  in  one  way  or  another, 
has  fallen  ultimately  upon  the  public. 

Mr.  Stephenson  had  been  looking  forward  with  much  interest 


MR.  liddell's  complimentary  speech.  395 

to  the  completion  of  the  East  Coast  route  to  Scotland  as  far  as 
his  native  town  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  He  had  done  much 
to  form  that  route,  both  hj  constructing  the  lines  from  Derby  to 
York,  and  by  bringing  before  the  public  his  plan  for  carrying  the 
main  line  noi-thward  to  Edinburgh.  A  bill  with  this  object  was 
again  brought  before  Parliament  in  1844.  On  the  18th  of  June, 
in  that  year,  the  Newcastle  and  Darlington  line — an  important 
link  of  the  great  main  highway  to  tlie  north — was  completed  and 
publicly  opened — thus  connecting  tlie  Thames  and  the  Tyne  by 
a  continuous  line  of  railway.  On  that  day,  Mr.  Stephenson,  Mr. 
Hudson,  and  a  distinguished  party  of  railway  men,  traveled  by 
express  train  from  London  to  Newcastle  m  about  nine  hours. 
It  was  a  great  event,  and  was  worthily  celebrated.  The  popula- 
tion of  Newcastle  held  holiday ;  and  a  banquet  held  in  the  As- 
sembly Rooms  the  same  evening  assumed  the  form  of  an  ovation 
to  Mr.  Stephenson  and  his  son.  Thirty  years  before,  George 
Stephenson,  in  the  capacity  of  a  workman,  had  been  laboring  at 
the  construction  of  his  first  locomotive  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood. By  slow  and  laborious  steps,  he  had  worked  his  way 
on,  dragging  the  locomotive  into  notice,  and  raising  himself  in 
public  estimation.  He  had  now,  at  length,  established  the  great 
railway  system,  and  came  back  amongst  his  townsmen  to  receive 
their  greeting. 

The  Honorable  Mr.  Liddell,  M.  P.,  whose  father.  Lord  Ra- 
vensworth,  had  helped  and  encouraged  George  Stephenson  to 
make  his  first  locomotive  at  Killingworth,  aj^proiDriately  occupied 
the  chair,  and,  in  introducing  Mr.  Stephenson  to  the  meeting, 
alluded  to  the  recent  rapid  progress  of  railroads,  and  especially 
to  the  last  great  event  in  their  history — the  opening  of  an  unin- 
terrupted railway  communication  from  the  Thames  to  the  Tyne 
— whereby  "  he  had  been  enabled  to  take  part  in  the  proceedings 
of  the  House  of  Commons  at  a  late  hour  in  the  night,  and  to 
arrive  at  Newcastle  in  time  for  an  early  dinner  on  the  following 
day.     This  wonderful  achievement  was  the  result  of  the  capital, 


396  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

skill  and  enterprise  of  England ;  and  if  he  (^fr.  Liddell)  felt 
proud  of  this  new  triumph  of  his  country,  what  must  be  the  feel- 
ings of  that  illustrious  individual  now  sitting  amongst  them,  who, 
though  born  in  humble  circumstances,  had,  by  the  force  of  his 
genius  and  industry,  so  distinguished  himself  as  to  hand  down  the 
name  of  Stephenson  to  everlasting  fame !  He  would  not  have 
referred  to  the  position  from  which  Mr.  Stephenson  had  sprung, 
were  it  not  that  he  himself,  so  far  from  being  ashamed  of  his 
origin,  was  in  the  habit  of  alluding  to  it ;  and  if  Mr.  Stephenson 
took  a  pride  in  the  humility  of  his  birth,  surely  his  countrymen 
might  be  proud  of  the  obscurity  of  his  youth,  as  compared  with 
the  prominence  of  his  present  position !  He  was  happy  to  add, 
that,  distinguished  as  he  was  by  his  genius  and  his  deeds,  his 
sterling  honesty  reflected  higher  honor  upon  George  Stephenson 
than  even  those  rare  abilities  with  which  he  was  endowed  by  the 
Almighty."  Referring  to  the  speech  of  Prebendary  Townsend, 
Mr.  Liddell  stated  that,  "  by  the  construction  of  a  railway  from 
London  to  Folkestone  and  Dover,  thousands  of  persons  had  been 
enabled  to  spend  their  last  Whitsuntide  holidays  at  Calais  and 
Boulogne,  among  their  ' natural  enemies;'  and  when  such  was 
the  case,  the  two  nations  would  in  time  be  purged  of  their  sense- 
less antipathies,  and  learn  to  look  upon  each  other,  not  as  for- 
eigners and  foes,  but  members  in  common  of  the  great  human 
family.  Mr.  Stephenson,  therefore,  might  be  looked  upon  as  the 
great  pacificator  of  the  age.  And  yet,  a  few  years  ago,  he  was 
but  a  working  engineman  at  a  colliery !  But  he  was  a  man  not 
only  of  talent,  but  of  genius.  Happily,  also,  he  was  a  man  of 
industry  and  of  character.  He  constructed  the  first  successful 
engine  that  traveled  by  its  own  spontaneous  power  over  an  iron 
railroad  ;  and  on  such  a  road,  and  by  such  an  engine,  a  communi- 
cation had  now  been  established  between  London  and  Newcastle. 
The  author  of  this  system  of  traveling  had  lived  long  enough  for 
his  fame,  but  not  long  enough  for  his  country.  He  had  reared 
to  himself  a  monument  more  durable  than  brass  or  marble,  and 


AUTOBIOGRAPHIC    SKETCH.  397 

based  it  on  a  foundation  whereon  it  would  rest  unshaken  by  the 
storms  of  time." 

Mr.  Stephenson,  in  replying  to  Mr.  Liddell's  complimentary 
speech,  took  occasion  to  deliver  that  memorable  autobiography 
to  which  we  have  already  referred  ;  and,  at  the  risk  of  repetition, 
we  venture  to  insert  it  here  in  a  more  complete  form,  botli  on 
account  of  its  extreme  mterest,  and  because  of  the  valuable  prac- 
tical lessons  it  contains.  "  As  the  honorable  member,"  said  he, 
"  has  referred  to  the  engineering  efforts  of  my  early  days,  it  may 
not  be  amiss  if  I  say  a  few  words  to  you  on  that  subject,  more 
especially  for  the  encouragement  of  my  younger  friends.  Mr. 
Liddell  has  told  you  that  in  my  early  days  I  worked  at  an  en- 
gine at  a  coal-pit.  I  had  then  to  work  early  and  late,  and  my 
emi)loyment  was  a  most  laborious  one.  For  about  twenty  years 
I  had  often  to  rise  to  my  labor  at  one  and  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  worked  until  late  at  night.  Time  rolled  on,  and  I 
had  the  happiness  to  make  some  improvements  in  engine  work. 
The  company  will  be  gratified  when  I  tell  them  that  the  first 
locomotive  that  I  made  was  at  Killingworth  colliery.  The  own- 
ers were  pleased  Avith  what  I  had  done  in  the  collieries ;  and  I 
then  proposed  to  make  an  engine  to  work  upon  the  smooth  rails. 
It  was  with  Lord  Ravensworth's  money  that  my  first  locomotive 
was  built.  Yes,  Lord  Eavensworth  and  his  partners  were  the 
first  gentlemen  to  entrust  me  with  money  to  make  a  locomotive. 
That  was  more  than  thirty  years  ago ;  and  we  first  called  it '  My 
Lord.'  I  then  stated  to  some  of  my  friends,  now  living,  that 
those  high  velocities  with  which  we  are  now  so  familiar,  would, 
sooner  or  later,  be  attained,  and  that  there  was  no  limit  to  the 
speed  of  such  an  engine,  provided  the  works  could  be  made  to 
stand ;  but  nobody  would  believe  me  at  that  time.  The  engines 
could  not  perform  the  high  velocities  now  reached,  when  they 
wei-e  first  invented ;  but,  by  their  superior  construction,  an  im- 
mense speed  is  now  capable  of  being  obtained.  Li  what  has 
been  done  under  my  management,  the  merit  is  only  in  part  my 


398  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSOX. 

own.  Throughout,  I  have  been  most  ably  seconded  and  assisted 
by  my  son.  In  the  early  period  of  my  career,  and  when  he  Avas 
a  little  boy,  I  felt  how  deficient  I  was  in  education,  and  made  up 
my  mind  that  I  would  put  him  to  a  good  school.  I  determined 
that  he  should  have  as  liberal  a  training  as  I  could  afford  to  give 
him.  I  was,  however,  a  poor  man ;  and  how  do  you  think  I 
managed  ?  I  betook  myself  to  mending  my  neighbors'  clocks 
and  watches  at  night,  after  my  daily  labor  was  done.  By  this 
means  I  saved  money,  which  I  put  by ;  and,  in  course  of  time, 
I  was  thus  enabled  to  give  my  son  a  good  education.  While 
quite  a  boy  he  assisted  me,  and  became  a  companion  to  me.  He 
got  an  appointment  as  under-viewer  at  Killingworth  ;  and  at 
nights,  when  we  came  home,  we  worked  together  at  our  engineer- 
ing. I  got  leave  from  my  employers  to  go  from  Killingworth  to 
lay  down  a  railway  at  Hetton,  and  next  to  Darlington  for  a  like 
purpose  ;  and  I  finished  both  railways.  After  that,  I  went  to 
Lirei'pool  to  plan  a  line  to  Manchester.  The  directors  of  that 
undertaking  thought  ten  miles  an  hour  Avould  be  a  maximum 
speed  for  the  locomotive  engine  ;  and  I  pledged  myself  to  attain 
that  speed.  I  said  I  had  no  doubt  the  locomotive  might  be  made 
to  go  much  faster,  but  we  had  better  be  moderate  at  the  begin- 
ning. The  directors  said  I  was  quite  right ;  for  if,  when  they 
went  to  Parliament,  I  talked  of  going  at  a  greater  rate  than  ten 
miles  an  hour,  I  should  put  a  cross  on  the  concern !  It  was  not 
an  easy  task  for  me  to  keep  the  engine  down  to  ten  miles  an 
hour ;  but  it  must  be  done,  and  I  did  my  best.  I  had  to  place 
myself  in  the  most  unpleasant  of  all  positions — the  witness-box 
of  a  parliamentary  committee.  I  was  not  long  in  it,  I  assure 
you,  before  I  began  to  wish  for  a  hole  to  creep  out  at.  I  could 
not  find  words  to  satisfy  either  the  committee  or  myself;  or  even 
to  make  them  understand  my  meaning.  Some  said,  '  He's  a  for- 
eigner.' '  No,'  others  replied  ;  '  he's  mad.'  But  I  put  up  with 
every  rebuff,  and  went  on  with  my  plans,  determined  not  to  be 
put  down.     Assistance  gradually  increased ;  gi'eat  improvements 


THE    EAST    COAST   LINE   REVIVED.  399 

were  made  in  the  locomotive ;  until  to-day,  a  train  Arliich  started 
from  London  in  the  morning,  has  brought  me  in  the  afternoon  to 
my  native  soil,  and  enabled  me  to  meet  again  many  fiices  with 
which  I  am  familiar,  and  which  I  am  exceedingly  pleased  to  see 
once  more." 

After  the  opening  of  this  railway,  the  completion  of  the  East 
Coast  line,  by  effecting  a  connection  between  Newcastle  and  Ber- 
wick, was  again  revived ;  and  Mr.  Stephenson,  wlio  had  already 
identified  himself  with  the  question,  and  was  intimately  acquainted 
with  every  foot  of  the  ground,  Avas  called  upon  to  assist  the  pro- 
moters with  his  judgment  and  experience. 

By  this  time  a  strong  popular  opinion  had  arisen  in  favor  of 
atmospheric  railways.  Many  engineers  avowedly  supported  them 
in  preference  to  locomotive  lines,  and  Mr.  Brunei  had  considera- 
ble influence  in  determining  the  vieAvs  of  many  members  of  Par- 
liament on  the  subject.  Amongst  others.  Lord  Howick  took  up 
the  question  of  atmospheric  as  opposed  to  locomotive  railways, 
and,  possessing  great  local  influence,  he  succeeded,  in  1844,  in 
forming  a  powerful  combination  of  the  landed  gentry  of  North- 
umberland in  favor  of  an  atmospheric  line  tlirough  that  county. 
Mr.  Stephenson  could  not  brook  the  idea  of  seeing  the  locomo- 
tive, for  which  he  had  fought  so  many  stout  battles,  pushed  to 
one  side  by  the  atmospheric  system,  and  that  in  the  very  county 
in  which  its  great  powers  had  been  first  developed.  Nor  did  he 
relish  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Brunei  as  the  engineer  of  Lord 
Howick's  atmospheric  railway,  in  opposition  to  the  line  which  had 
occupied  his  thoughts  and  been  the  object  of  his  strenuous  advo- 
cacy for  so  many  years.  When  Mr.  Stephenson  first  met  Mr. 
Brunei  in  Newcastle,  he  good-naturedly  shook  him  by  the  collar, 
and  asked  "  what  business  he  had  north  of  the  Tyne  ?  "  Mr. 
Stephenson  gave  him  to  understand  that  they  were  to  have  a  fair 
stand-up  fight  for  the  ground,  and  shaking  hands  before  the  bat- 
tle, like  Englishmen,  they  parted  in  good  humor.  A  public  meet- 
ing was  held  at  Newcastle  in  the  following  December,  when, 


400  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

after  a  full  discussion  of  the  merits  of  the  respective  plans,  Mr. 
Stephenson's  line  was  almost  unanimously  adopted  as  the  best. 

The  rival  projects  went  before  Parliament  in  1845,  and  a 
severe  contest  ensued.  The  display  of  ability  and  tactics  on  both 
sides  was  great.  Mr.  Hudson  and  the  Messrs.  Stephenson  were 
the  soul  of  the  movement  in  support  of  the  locomotive,  and  Lord 
Howick  and  Mr.  Brunei  in  behalf  of  the  atmospheric  system. 
The  locomotive* again  triumphed:  Mr.  Stephenson's  coast  line 
secured  the  approval  of  Parliament,  and  the  shareholders  in  the 
atmospheric  company  were  happily  saved  from  expending  theii' 
capital  in  the  perpetration  of  an  egregious  blunder ;  for,  only  a 
few  years  later,  the  atmospheric  system  was  everywhere  aban- 
doned. 

This  was  one  of  the  very  few  projects  in  which  Mr.  Stephen- 
son was  professedly  concerned  in  the  mad  railway  session  of 
1845  ;  and  it  was  the  last  great  parliamentary  contest  in  which 
he  took  a  prominent  part.  So  closely  was  Mr.  Stephenson  iden- 
tified with  this  measure,  and  so  great  was  the  personal  interest 
which  he  was  known  to  take  in  its  success,  that  on  the  news  of  the 
triumph  of  the  bill  reaching  Newcastle,  a  sort  of  general  holiday 
took  place,  and  the  workmen  belonging  to  the  Stephenson  Loco- 
motive Factory,  upwards  of  800  in  number,  walked  in  procession 
through  the  principal  streets  of  the  town,  accompanied  by  music 
and  banners. 

There  was  still  another  great  work  connected  with  Newcastle 
and  the  East  Coast  route,  which  Mr.  Stephenson  projected,  but 
which  he  did  not  live  to  see  completed — the  High  Level  Bridge 
over  the  Tyne,  of  which  his  son  Robert  was  the  principal  engi- 
neer. Mr.  R.  W.  Brandling — to  the  public  spirit  and  enterprise 
of  whose  family  the  prosperity  of  Newcastle  has  been  in  no  small 
degree  indebted,  and  who  first  brought  to  light  the  strong  orig- 
inal genius  of  George  Stephenson  in  connection  with  the  safety 
lamp — is  entitled  to  the  merit  of  originating  the  idea  of  the  High 
Level  Bridge  as  it  was  eventually  carried  out,  with  a  central  ter- 


THE    HIGH    LEVEL   BRIDGE.  401 

minus  for  the  northern  railways  in  the  Castle  Garth  at  Newcastle. 
He  first  promulgated  the  plan  in  1841 ;  and  in  the  following 
year  it  was  resolved  that  Mr.  George  Stephenson  should  be  con- 
sulted as  to  the  most  advisable  site  for  the  proposed  bridge.  A 
prospectus  of  a  High  Level  Bridge  Company  was  issued  in  1843, 
the  names  of  George  Stephenson  and  George  Hudson  appearing 
on  the  committee  of  management,  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson  being 
the  consulting  engineer.  The  project  was  eventually  taken  up 
by  the  Newcastle  and  Darlington  Railway  Company,  and  an  act 
for  the  construction  of  the  bridge  was  obtained  in  the  session  of 
1845.  The  designs  of  the  bridge  were  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson's; 
and  the  works  were  executed  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Harrison,  one  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  many  able  assistants. 
The  High  Level  Bridge  is  certainly  the  most  magnificent  and 
striking  of  all  the  erections  to  which  railways  have  given  birth 
— more  picturesque  as  an  object  than  the  tubular  bridge  over  the 
Menai  Straits,  and  even  more  important  as  a  great  public  work. 
It  has  been  worthily  styled  "  the  King  of  Railway  Structures." 

26 


1 


CHAPTER    XXXI, 


XnE  RAILWAY  MANIA. 


The  extension  of  railways  had,  up  to  the  yeai'  1844,  been 
effected  principally  by  men  of  the  commercial  classes,  interested 
in  opening  up  improved  communications  between  particular  towns 
and  districts.  The  first  lines  had  been  bold  experiments — many 
thought  them  exceedingly  rash  and  unwarranted ;  they  had  been 
reluctantly  conceded  by  the  legislature,  and  were  carried  out  in 
the  face  of  great  opposition  and  difficulties.  At  length  the  loco- 
motive vindicated  its  power ;  railways  were  recognized  by  men 
of  all  classes,  as  works  of  great  utility ;  and  their  vast  social  as 
well  as  commercial  advantages  forced  themselves  on  the  public 
recognition.  What  had  been  regarded  as  but  doubtful  specula- 
tions, and  by  many  as  certain  failures,  were  now  ascertained  to 
be  beneficial  investments,  the  most  successful  of  them  paying 
from  eight  to  ten  per  cent,  on  the  share  capital  expended. 

The  first  railways  were,  on  the  whole,  well  managed.  The 
best  men  that  could  be  got  were  appointed  to  work  them.  It  is 
true,  mistakes  were  made,  and  accidents  happened ;  but  men  did 
not  become  perfect  because  railways  had  been  invented.  The 
men  who  constructed,  and  the  men  who  worked  the  lines,  were 
selected  from  the  general  community,  consisting  of  its  usual  pro- 
portion of  honest,  practical,  and  tolerably  stupid  persons.  Had 
it  been  possible  to  create  a  class  of  perfect  men,  a  sort  of  railway 
guardian-angels,  directors  would  only  have  been  top  glad  to  appoint 

(402) 


THE    STOCK    EXCHANGE.  403 

them  at  good  salaries.  For  with  all  the  mistakes  that  may  have 
been  committed  by  directors,  the  jobbing  of  railway  appointments, 
or  the  misuse  of  patronage  in  selecting  the  persons  to  work  their 
lines,  has  not  been  charged  against  them.  We  have  never  yet 
seen  a  Railway  Living  advertised  for  sale ;  nor  have  railway  sit- 
uations of  an  important  character  been  obtainable  through  "  inter- 
est." From  the  first,  directors  chose  the  best  men  they  could  find 
for  their  pui'pose  ;  and,  on  the  whole,  the  system,  considering  the 
extent  of  its  operations,  worked  satisfactorily,  though  admitted 
to  be  capable  of  considerable  improvement. 

The  first  boards  of  directors  were  composed  of  men  of  the 
highest  character  and  integrity  that  could  be  found ;  and  they 
almost  invariably  held  a  large  stake  in  their  respective  undertak- 
ings, sufficient  to  give  them  a  lively  personal  interest  in  their 
successful  management.  They  were  also  men  who  had  not  taken 
up  the  business  of  railway  direction  as  a  trade,  but  who  entered 
upon  railway  enterprise  for  its  own  sake,  looking  to  its  eventual 
success  for  an  adequate  return  on  their  large  investments. 

The  first  shareholders  were  principally  confined  to  the  manu- 
facturing districts — the  capitalists  of  the  metropolis  as  yet  hold- 
ing aloof,  and  prophesying  disaster  to  all  concerned  in  railway 
projects.*  The  stock  exchange  looked  askance  upon  them,  and 
it  was  with  difficulty  that  respectable  brokers  could  be  found  to 
do  business  in  the  shares.  But  when  the  lugubrious  anticipa- 
tions of  the  city  men  were  found  to  be  so  completely  falsified  by 
the  results,  when,  after  the  lapse  of  j^ears,  it  was  ascertained  that 
railway  traffic  rapidly  increased  and  dividends  steadily  improved, 
a  change  came  over  the  spirit  of  the  London  capitalists :  they 
then  invested  largely  in  railways,  and  the  shares  became  a  lead- 
ing branch  of  business  on  the  stock  exchange.    Speculation  fairly 

*  The  leading  "city  men"  looked  ■(vith  great  suspicion  on  the  first  railway  projects, 
haying  no  faith  in  their  success.  In  1835,  the  solicitorship  of  the  Brighton  Railway 
(then  projected)  was  offered  to  a  city  firm  of  high  standing,  and  refused — one  of  the  part- 
ners assigning  as  a  reason  that  "  the  coaches  would  drive  the  railway  trains  off  the  road 
in  a  month  1  " 


404:  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

set  in ;  brokers  prominently  called  the  attention  of  investors  to 
railway  stock ;  and  the  prices  of  shares  in  the  principal  lines  rose 
to  nearly  double  their  original  value. 

The  national  wealth  soon  poured  into  this  new  channel.  A 
stimulus  was  given  to  the  projection  of  further  lines,  the  shares 
in  the  most  favorite  of  which  came  out  at  a  premium,  and  became 
the  subject  of  immediate  traffic  on  'change.  The  premiums  con- 
stituted their  sole  worth  in  the  estimation  of  the  speculators.  As 
titles  to  a  future  profitable  investment,  the  tens  of  thousands  of 
shares  created  and  issued  in  1844  and  1845  were  not  in  the 
slightest  degree  valued.  What  were  they  worth  to  hold  for  a 
time,  and  then  to  sell  ?  what  profit  could  be  made  by  the  ven- 
ture?— that  was  the  sole  consideration. 

A  share-dealing  spirit  was  thus  evoked ;  and  a  reckless  gam- 
bling for  premiums  set  in,  which  completely  changed  the  char- 
acter and  objects  of  railway  enterprise.  The  public  outside  the 
stock  exchange  shortly  became  infected  with  the  same  spirit,  and 
many  people,  utterly  ignorant  of  railways,  knowing  and  caring 
nothing  about  their  great  national  uses,  but  hungering  and  thirst- 
ing after  premiums,  rushed  eagerly  into  the  vortex  of  speculation. 
They  applied  for  allotments,  and  subscribed  for  shares  in  lines, 
of  the  engineering  character  or  probable  traffic  of  which  they 
knew  nothing.  "  Shares !  shares ! "  became  the  general  cry. 
The  ultimate  issue  of  the  projects  themselves  was  a  matter  of  no 
moment.  The  multitude  were  bitten  by  the  universal  rage  for 
acquiring  sudden  fortunes  without  the  labor  of  earning  them. 
Provided  they  could  but  obtain  allotments  which  they  could  sell 
at  a  premium,  and  put  the  profit — often  the  only  capital  they 
possessed* — into  their  pockets,  it  was  enough  for  them.  The 
mania  was  not  confined  to  the  precincts  of  the  stock  exchange, 

*■  The  Marquis  of  Clanricarde  brought  under  the  notice  of  the  House  of  Lords  in  1845, 
that  one  Charles  Guernsey,  the  son  of  a  charwoman,  and  a  clerk  in  a  broker's  office  at 
12s.  a  week,  had  his  name  down  as  a  subscriber  for  shares  in  the  London  and  York  line, 
for  52,000J  Doubtless,  he  had  been  made  useful  for  the  purpose  by  the  brokers,  hi* 
smployers. 


SPECULATION   RUN    MAD.  405 

but  infected  all  ranks  throughout  the  country.  Share  markets 
were  estabUslied  in  the  provincial  towns,  where  people  might 
play  their  stakes  as  on  a  roulette  table.  Tlie  game  was  open  to 
all — to  the  workman,  who  drew  his  accumulation  of  small  earn- 
ings out  of  the  savings'  bank  to  try  a  venture  in  shares ;  to  the 
widow  and  spinster  of  small  means,  Avho  had  up  to  that  time 
blessed  God  that  their  lot  had  lain  between  poverty  and  riches, 
but  were  now  seized  by  the  infatuation  of  becoming  suddenly 
rich ;  to  the  professional  man,  who,  watching  the  success  of 
others,  at  length  scorned  the  moderate  gains  of  his  calling,  and 
rushed  into  speculation.  The  madness  spread  everywhere.  It 
embraced  merchants  and  manufacturers,  gentry  and  shopkeepers, 
clerks  in  public  offices  and  loungers  at  the  clubs.  Noble  lords 
were  pointed  out  as  "stags;"  there  were  even  clergymen  who 
were  characterized  as  "bulls;"  and  amiable  ladies  who  had  the 
reputation  of  "bears,"  in  the  share  markets.  The  few  quiet  men 
who  remained  uninfluenced  by  the  speculation  of  the  time,  were, 
in  not  a  few  cases,  even  reproached  for  doing  injustice  to  their 
families,  in  declining  to  help  themselves  from  the  stores  of  wealth 
that  were  poured  out  all  around. 

Folly  and  knavery  were,  for  a  time,  completely  in  the  ascend- 
ant. The  sharpers  of  society  were  let  loose,  and  jobbers  and 
schemers  became  more  and  more  plentiful.  They  threw  out 
railway  schemes  as  mere  lures  to  catch  the  unwary.  They  fed 
the  mania  with  a  constant  succession  of  new  projects.  The  rail- 
way papers  became  loaded  with  their  advertisements.  The  post- 
office  was  scarcely  able  to  distribute  the  multitude  of  prospectuses 
and  circulars  which  they  issued.  For  the  time  their  popularity 
was  immense.  They  rose  like  froth  into  the  upper  heights  of 
society,  and  the  flunky  Fitz  Plushe,  by  virtue  of  his  supposed 
wealth,  sat  amongst  peers  and  was  idolized.  Then  was  the  har- 
vest-time for  scheming  lawyers,  parliamentary  agents,  engineers, 
surveyors  and  traffic-takers,  who  were  ahke  ready  to  take  up  any 
railway  scheme  however  desperate,  and  to  prove  any  f^mount  of 


406  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

traffic  even  where  none  existed.  The  traffic  in  the  credulity  of 
their  dupes  was,  however,  the  great  feet  that  mainly  concerned 
them,  and  of  the  profitable  character  of  which  there  could  be  no 
doubt.  Many  of  them  saw  well  enough  the  crash  that  was  com- 
ing, and  diligently  made  use  of  the  madness  while  it  served  their 
turn. 

Even  men  of  reputed  sagacity  in  commercial  undertakings, 
who  had  accumulated  their  wealth  patiently  and  honestly,  and 
who  seemed  most  unlikely  to  risk  their  capital  in  such  a  mania, 
were  drawn  into  the  irresistible  vortex,  and  invested  in  the  new 
schemes  in  the  hope  of  realizing  profits  more  rapidly,  or  obtain 
ing  a  higher  interest  for  their  money. 

Parliament,  whose  previous  conduct  in  connection  Avith  rail- 
way legislation  was  so  open  to  reprehension,  interposed  no  check 
— attempted  no  remedy.  On  the  contrary,  it  helped  to  intensify 
the  evils  arising  from  this  unseemly  state  of  things.  Many  of  its 
members  were  themselves  involved  in  the  mania,  and  as  much 
interested  in  its  continuance  as  were  the  vulgar  herd  of  money- 
grubbers.  The  railway  prospectuses  now  issued — unlike  the 
original  Liverpool  and  Manchester,  and  London  and  Birmingham 
schemes — were  headed  by  peers,  baronets,  landed  proprietors, 
and  strings  of  M.  Ps.  Thus,  it  was  found  in  1845,  that  not 
fewer  than  157  members  of  Parliament  were  on  the  list  of  new 
companies  as  subscribers  for  sums  ranging  from  291,000/.  down- 
wards !  The  projectors  of  new  lines  even  came  to  boast  of  their 
parliamentary  strength,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  which  they 
could  command  in  "the  House."  The  influence  which  land- 
owners liad  formerly  brought  to  bear  upon  Parliament  in  resist- 
ing railways  when  called  for  by  the  public  necessities,  was  now 
employed  to  carry  measures  of  a  far  different  kind,  originated  by 
cupidity,  knavery  and  folly.  But  these  gentlemen  had  discov- 
ered by  this  time  that  railways  were  as  a  golden  mine  to  them. 
They  sat  at  railway  boards,  sometimes  selling  to  themselves  their 
own  land  at  their  own  price,  and  paying  themselves  with  the 


DISCOURAGES    RAILWAY    SPECULATION.  407 

money  of  the  unfortunate  shareholders.  Others  used  the  rail- 
^vay  mania  as  a  convenient,  and,  to  themselves,  comparatively  in- 
expensive mode  of  purchasing  constituencies.  It  was  strongly 
suspected  that  honorable  members  adopted  what  Yankee  legis- 
lators call  '"log-rolling,"  that  is,  "You  help  me  to  roll  my  log, 
and  I  help  you  to  roll  yours."  At  all  events,  it  is  matter  of  fa(;t, 
that,  through  parliamentary  influence,  many  utterly  ruinous 
branches  and  extensions  projected  during  the  mania,  calculated 
only  to  benefit  the  inhabitants  of  a  iew  miserable  old  boroughs 
accidentally  omitted  from  schedule  A,  were  authorized  in  the 
memorable  sessions  of  1844  and  1845. 

This  boundless  speculation  of  course  gave  abundant  employ- 
ment to  the  engineers.  They  were  found  ready  to  attach  their 
names  to  the  most  daring  and  foolish  projects — railways  through 
hills,  across  arms  of  the  sea,  over  or  under  great  rivers,  spanning 
valleys  at  great  heights  or  boring  their  way  under  the  ground, 
across  barren  moors,  along  precipices,  over  bogs,  and  through 
miles  of  London  streets.  One  line  was  projected  direct  from 
Leeds  to  Liverpool,  which,  if  constructed,  would  involve  a  tun- 
nel, or  a  deep  rock  cutting  through  the  hills,  twenty  miles  long. 
No  scheme  was  so  mad  that  it  did  not  find  an  engineer,  so  called, 
ready  to  indorse  it,  and  give  it  currency.  Many  of  these,  even 
men  of  distinction,  sold  the  use  of  their  names  to  the  projectors. 
A  thousand  guineas  was  the  price  charged  by  one  gentleman  for 
the  use  of  his  name ;  and  fortunate  were  the  solicitors  considered 
who  succeeded  in  bagging  an  engineer  of  reputation  for  their 
prospectus. 

Mr.  Stephenson  was  anxiously  entreated  to  lend  his  name  in 
this  way,  but  he  invariably  refused.  Had  he  been  less  scrupu- 
lous, he  might,  without  any  trouble,  have  thus  earned  an  enor- 
mous income ;  but  he  had  no  desire  to  accumulate  a  fortune 
without  labor  and  without  honor.  He  himself  never  speculated 
in  shares.  When  he  was  satisfied  as  to  the  merits  of  any  line, 
he  subscribed  for  so  much  capital  in  the  undertaking,  and  held 


408  ■  LIFE    OF    GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

on,  neither  buying  nor  selling.  At  a  time  when  the  shares  in 
most  of  the  lines  in  which  he  held,  were  selling  at  high  premiums, 
some  sagacious  friends,  foreseeing  the  inevitable  j^anic,  urged 
him  to  realize.  His  answer  was,  "  No :  I  subscribed  for  those 
shares  to  hold  during  my  lifetime,  not  to  speculate  with."  Thus, 
all  the  railway  stock  that  he  had  subscribed  for,  continued  in  his 
possession  until  his  death,  although  much  of  it  by  that  time  had 
become  greatly  depreciated  in  value  in  consequence  of  over-spec- 
ulation in  railways.  In  1844  and  1845  he  conscientiously  stood 
aloof,  and  endeavored,  but  in  vain,  to  deter  those  who  were  im- 
periling the  system  which  he  had  so  laboriously  worked  out, 
from  engaging  in  these  rash  and  worthless  schemes.  Deputa- 
tions, headed  by  lords  and  members  of  Parliament,  waited  upon 
him,  and  entreated  him  to  act  as  consulting  engineer  for  their 
lines.  Instead  of  complying,  he  entreated  them  to  desist,  point- 
ing out  the  ruinous  consequences  of  their  procedure. 

During  1845,  his  son's  offices  in  George  Street,  Westminster, 
were  crowded  with  persons  of  various  conditions  seeking  inter- 
views, and  presented  very  much  the  appearance  of  the  levee  of  a 
minister  of  state.  The  Railway  King,  suiTounded  by  an  admir- 
ing group  of  followers,  was  often  a  prominent  feature  there ;  and 
a  still  more  interesting  person,  in  the  estimation  of  many,  was 
George  Stephenson,  dressed  in  black,  his  coat  of  somewhat  old- 
fashioned  cut,  with  square  pockets  in  the  tails.  He  wore  a  white 
neckcloth,  and  a  lax'ge  bunch  of  seals  was  suspended  from  his 
watch-ribbon.  Altogether,  he  presented  an  appearance  of  health, 
intelligence  and  good  humor,  that  rejoiced  one  to  look  upon  in 
that  sordid,  selfish  and  eventually  ruinous  saturnalia  of  railway 
speculation. 

Being  still  the  consulting  engineer  for  several  of  the  older 
companies,  he  necessarily  appeared  before  Parliament  in  support 
of  their  branches  and  extensions.  In  1845,  his  name  was  asso- 
ciated with  that  of  his  son  as  the  engineer  for  the  Southport  and 
Preston  Junction.    In  the  same  session  he  gave  evidence  in  favor 


WANT    OP    FORESIGHT    IN    PARLIAMENT.  409 

of  the  Syston  and  Peterborough  bi-anch  of  the  Midland  Railway; 
but  his  pi-incijial  attention  was  confined  to  the  promotion  of  the 
line  from  Newcastle  to  Berwick,  in  which  he  had  never  ceased 
to  take  the  deepest  interest.  At  the  same  time  he  was  engaged 
in  examining  and  reporting  upon  certain  foreign  lines  of  consider- 
able importance. 

Powers  were  granted  by  Parliament,  in  1845,  to  construct  not 
less  than  2883  miles  of  new  railways  in  Britain,  at  an  expendi- 
ture of  about  forty-four  millions  sterling !  Yet  the  mania  was 
not  appeased ;  for  in  the  following  session  of  184G  applications 
were  made  to  Parliament  for  powers  to  raise  389,000,000/.  ster- 
ling for  the  construction  of  further  lines ;  and  powers  were 
actually  conceded  for  forming  4790  miles  (including  60  miles  of 
tunnels),  at  a  cost  of  about  120,000,000/.  sterling !  *  During  this 
session,  Mr.  Stephenson  appeared  as  engineer  for  only  one  new 
line  —  the  Buxton,  Macclesfield,  Congleton  and  Crewe  Railway; 
and  for  three  branch  lines  in  connection  with  existing  companies, 
for  which  he  had  long  acted  as  engineer.  During  the  same  ses- 
sion, all  the  leading  professional  men  were  fully  occupied,  some 
of  them  appearing  as  consulting  engineers  for  upwards  of  thirty 
lines  each ! 

The  course  adopted  by  Parliament  in  dealing  with  the  multi- 
tude of  railway  bills  applied  for  during  the  prevalence  of  the 
mania,  was  as  irrational  as  it  proved  to  be  unfortunate.  The 
want  of  foresight  displayed  by  both  houses  in  obstructing  the 
railway  system  so  long  as  it  was  based  upon  sound  commercial 
principles,  was  only  equalled  by  the  fatal  facility  Avith  which 
they  subsequently  granted  railway  projects  based  on  the  wildest 
speculation.  Parliament  interposed  no  check,  laid  down  no  prin- 
ciple, furnished  n(f  guidance,  for  the  conduct  of  railway  project- 
ors, but  left  every  company  to  select  its  own  locality,  determine 

*  On  the  17th  November,  1845,  Mr  Spackman  published  a  list  of  the  lines  projected, 
f  many  of  which  were  not  afterwards  prosecuted),  from  which  it  appeared  that  there  were 
then  620  new  railway  projects  before  the  public,  requiring  a  capital  of  56-3,203,000/. 


410  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

its  own  line  and  fix  its  own  gauge.  No  regard  was  paid  to  the 
claims  of  existing  companies,  which  had  ah'eady  expended  so 
large  an  amount  in  the  formation  of  useful  railways.  Speculators 
were  left  at  full  liberty  to  project  and  carry  out  lines  almost 
parallel  with  theirs.  In  1844,  Lord  Dalhousie,  who  then  pre- 
sided at  the  Board  of  Trade,  endeavored,  in  a  series  of  able 
reports,  to  give  a  proper  direction  to  legislation  on  the  subject  of 
railways ;  but  in  vain.  Both  houses  viewed  with  jealousy  any 
interference  with  the  powers  of  the  committees ;  Lord  Dal- 
housie's  recommendations  were  entii'ely  disregarded,  and  an  un- 
limited scope  was  afforded  to  competition  for  railway  bills.  A 
powerful  stimulus  was  thus  given  to  the  existing  spirit  of  specu- 
lation, which  rose  to  a  fearful  height,  in  1845,  turning  nearly  the 
whole  nation  into  gamblers. 

The  House  of  Commons  became  thoroughly  influenced  by  the 
prevailing  excitement ;  and  even  the  Board  of  Trade  itself  be- 
gan to  favor  the  views  of  the  flist  school  of  engineers.  In  the 
"Report  on  the  Lines  projected  in  the  Manchester  and  Leeds 
District,"  *  they  promulgated  some  remarkable  views  respecting 
gradients,  declaring  themselves  in  favor  of  the  "undulating  sys- 
tem." Thus  they  cited  the  case  of  the  Lickey  incline  on  the 
Birmingham  and  Gloucester  Railway,  as  "a  conclusive  proof  that 
a  gradient  of  1  in  37^  for  a  length  of  two  miles  may  be  worked 
by  the  aid  of  an  engine  constructed  for  the  purpose,  without 
serious  inconvenience  to  an  extensive  traffic;" — that  "gradients 
of  from  1  in  50  to  1  in  100  are  perfectly  practicable  to  the  ordi- 
nary locomotive  engine,  with  moderate  loads; — that  lines  of  an 
undulating  character  "which  have  gradients  of  1  in  70  or  1  in 
80  distributed  over  them  in  short  lengths,  may  be  positively  better 
lines,  i.  e.,  more  susceptible  of  cheap  and  expeditious  working,  than 
others  which  have  nothing  steeper  than  1  in  100  or  1  in  1201" 
They  concluded  by  reporting  in  favor  of  the  line  which  exhibited 

»  Dated  the  4th  February,  1845. 


SIR  ROBERT  PEEL  ON  GRADIENTS.         411 

the  most  gradients  and  the  sharpest  curves,  chiefly  on  the  ground 
that  it  could  be  constructed  for  less  money. 

Sir  Robert  Peel  took  occasion,  when  speaking  in  favor  of  the 
continuance  of  the  Railways  Department  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
to  advert  to  this  Report  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  4th 
of  March  following,  as  containing  "a  novel  and  highly  important 
view  on  the  subject  of  gradients,  which,  he  Avas  certain,  never 
could  have  been  taken  by  any  Committee  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, however  intelligent ;"  and  he  might  have  added  that  the 
more  intelligent,  the  less  likely  they  were  to  arrive  at  any  such 
conclusions.  When  Mr.  Stephenson  saw  this  report  of  the  prem- 
ier's speech  in  the  newspapers  of  the  following  morning,  he  went 
forthwith  to  his  son,  and  asked  him  to  write  a  letter  to  Sir  Robert 
Peel  on  the  subject.  He  saw  clearly  that  if  these  views  were 
adopted,  the  utility  and  economy  of  railways  would  be  seriously 
curtailed.  "These  members  of  Parliament,"  said  he,  "are  now 
as  much  disposed  to  exaggerate  the  powers  of  the  locomotive,  as 
they  were  to  under-estimate  them  but  a  few  years  ago."  Mr. 
Robert  Stephenson  wrote  a  letter  for  his  father's  signature, 
embodying  the  views  which  he  so  strongly  entertained  as  to  the 
importance  of  flat  gradients,  and  referring  to  the  experiments 
conducted  by  him  many  years  before,  in  proof  of  the  great  loss 
of  working  power  which  was  incurred  on  a  line  of  steep  as  com- 
pared with  easy  gradients.  It  was  clear,  from  the  tone  of  Sir 
Robert  Peel's  speech  in  a  subsequent  debate,*  that  he  had  care- 
fully read  and  considered  Mr.  Stephenson's  practicable  observa- 
tions on  the  subject ;  for  he  then  took  the  opportunity  of  observ- 
ing that  "he  thought  there  was  too  great  a  tendency  to  adopt  the 
shortest  lines  without  I'eference  to  gradients.  Though,  in  recent 
instances,  unfavorable  gradients  had  been  overcome  by  the  con- 
struction of  new  engines,  he  doubted  whether  there  was  not  an 
unprofitable  expenditure  of  power  in  such  cases — whether  the 

*  Debate  on  Mr.  Morison's  resolutions,  March  20th,  1845 


412  LIFE  OF    GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

mechanical  action  of  locomotive  engines  was  not  materially  inter- 
fered with  by  unfavorable  gradients — and  whether  the  exertions 
made  to  diminish  the  gradients,  and  to  run  as  nearly  as  possil)le 
on  a  level,  would  not  be  amply  repaid.  He  was  alluding,  not  to 
the  shortest  Hues  merely  with  regard  to  distance,  but  to  the  short- 
est lines  in  point  of  timey  On  the  whole,  however,  he  declared 
himself  favorable  to  direct  lines,  and  cited  the  case  of  the  Trent 
Valley  Railway  (which  placed  Tamworth  on  a  main  line)  as  one 
that  "was  about  to  be  established  by  universal  consent."  Sir 
Robert's  conclusions  were  not  very  decisive  on  the  question ;  and 
it  was  not  quite  clear  whether  he  was  in  favor  of  direct  lines  of 
unfavorable  gradients,  or  somewhat  longer  lines  of  flat  gradients. 
There  was  doubtless  "much  to  be  said  on  both  sides;"  and  the 
committees  were  left  to  decide  as  they  thought  proper.  Direct 
lines  were  very  much  in  vogue  at  the  time.  There  were  "Di- 
rect Manchester,"  "  Direct  Exeter,"  "  Direct  York,"  and,  indeed, 
new  direct  lines  between  most  of  the  large  towns.  The  Marquis 
of  Bristol,  speaking  in  favor  of  the  "  Direct  Norwich  and  Lon- 
don" project,  at  a  public  meeting  at  Haverhill,  said,  "if  necessary, 
they  might  make  a  tunnel  beneath  his  very  drawing-room,  rather 
than  be  defeated  in  their  undertaking!"  How  different  was  the 
spirit  which  influenced  these  noble  lords  but  a  few  years  before  ! 
The  Board  of  Trade,  seeing  clearly  the  disadvantages  of  the 
difference  of  gauge  between  the  Great  Western  and  the  adjacent 
lines,  recommended  uniformity,  and  that  the  narrow  gauge  should 
be  adopted  as  the  national  one.  Again  the  House  of  Commons 
disregarded  their  advice.  The  Committee  passed  both  broad  and 
narrow  gauge  bills  indiscriminately.  The  Board  also  reported 
against  the  atmosphei'ic  system  of  working.  But  Sir  Robert 
F<;el  and  other  amateur  railway  men  declared  themselves  strongly 
in  it^  favor ;  *  and  numerous  acts  empowering  the  construction 

*  Irv  the  debate  on  Mr.  Shaw's  motion  for  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  practicability 
of  the  atmospheric  Fystem,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  in  supporting  the  resolution,  said  :  "  You 
will  observe  that  my  impression  is  strongly  in  favor  of  the  atmospheric  system.     I  Seeply 


LEGISLATIVE    BUNGLING. 


413 


of  atmospheric  lines  were  passed  during  the  session.  The  result 
of  the  whole  was,  a  tissue  of  legislative  bungling,  involving  enor- 
mous loss  to  the  public.  Railway  bills  were  granted  in  heaps. 
Two  hundred  and  seventy-two  additional  acts  were  passed  in 
1846.*  Some  authorized  the  construction  of  lines  running  almost 
parallel  to  existing  railways,  in  order  to  afford  the  public  "  the 
benefits  of  unrestricted  competition."  Locomotive  and  atmos- 
pheric lines,  broad-gauge  and  narrow-gauge  lines,  were  granted 
without  hesitation.  One  of  the  grand  points  with  the  red-tapists, 
was  compliance  with  standing  orders.  The  real  merits  of  the 
lines  applied  for,  were  of  comparatively  little  moment.  Commit- 
tees decided  without  judgment,  and  without  discrimination ;  it 
was  a  scramble  for  bills  in  which  the  most  unscrupulous  were  the 
most  successful.  As  an  illustration  of  the  legislative  folly  of  the 
period,  Mr.  Robert  Stephenson,  speaking  at  Toronto,  in  Upper 
Canada,  some  years  later,  adduced  the  following  instances : 
'"  There  was  one  district  through  which  it  was  proposed  to  run 
two  lines,  and  there  was  no  other  difficulty  between  them  than 
the  simple  rivalry  that,  if  one  got  a  charter,  the  other  might  also. 
But  here,  where  the  Committee  might  have  given  both,  they  gave 
neither.     In  another  instance,  two  lines  were  projected  through  a 


lament  the  loss  of  one  of  the  gentlemen  (Mr.  Jacob  Samada)  who  were  the  patentees  of 
this  system,  for  his  great  acuteness  tended  much  to  the  success  of  this  very  ingenious 
invention."    March  14th,  1845. 

*  The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  railway  acts  passed  in  the  three  sessions  of  1844, 
1S46,  and  18-16 : 


Years. 

Number  of  Acts 
passed. 

Length  of  New 
Railways  author- 
ized. 

1 
New  Railway  Capital 
authorized 

1844 
1845 
1846 

48 
120 
272 

Miles. 
797 
2,883            , 
4,790 

£ 
14,793,994 

43,844,907 
121,500,000 

Total, 

440 

8,470 

180,138,901 

414  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

barren  country,  and  the  Committee  gave  the  one  which  afforded 
the  least  accommodation  to  the  public.  In  another,  where  two 
lines  were  projected  to  run,  merely  to  shorten  the  time  by  a  few 
minutes,  leading  through  a  mountainous  country,  the  Committee 
gave  both.  So  that,  where  the  Committee  might  have  given 
both,  they  gave  neither,  and  where  they  should  have  given 
neither,  they  gave  both." 

The  frightful  waste  of  money  in  conducting  railway  proceed- 
ings, before  and  after  they  reached  the  parliamentary  committees, 
was  matter  of  notoriety.  An  instance  has  been  mentioned  of  an 
utterly  impracticable  line,  which  never  got  so  far  as  the  House 
of  Commons,  where  the  solicitor's  bill  for  projecting  and  conduct- 
ing the  scheme  amounted  to  82,000Z.  It  was  estimated  by  Mr. 
Laing  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  the  estimate  was  confirmed  by 
Mr.  Stephenson,  that  the  competition  for  new  lines,  many  of 
which  were  sanctioned  by  Parliament  under  the  delusion  that 
railway  traveling  would  be  thereby  cheapened,  had  led  to  the 
expenditure  of  about  three  hundred  millions  sterling,  of  which 
seventy  millions  had  been  completely  thrown  away  in  construct- 
ing unnecessary  duplicate  lines.  But  Mr.  Stephenson  further 
expressed  himself  of  opinion,  that  this  loss  of  seventy  millions 
very  inadequately  represented  the  actual  loss  in  point  of  conven- 
ience, economy,  and  other  circumstances  connected  with  traffic, 
which  the  public  has  sustained  from  the  carelessness  of  Parlia- 
ment in  railway  legislation. 

The  total  cost  of  obtaining  one  act  amounted  to  436,223/. 
Another  company  expended  480,000/.  on  parliamentary  contests 
in  nine  years.  In  another  case,  57,000/.  was  expended  in  one 
session  upon  six  counsel  and  twenty  solicitors.  One  barrister,  in 
good  practice  before  the  committees,  pocketed  38,000/.  in  a  single 
session. 

Amongst  the  many  ill  effects  of  the  mania,  one  of  the  worst 
was  that  it  introduced  a  low  tone  of  morality  into  railway  trans- 
actions.    The  bad  spirit  which  had  been  evoked  by  it  unhappily 


THE   RAILWAY   NAVVY.  415 

extended  to  the  commercial  classes ;  and  many  of  the  most 
flagrant  swindles  of  recent  times  had  their  origin  in  the  year 
18-15.  Those  who  had  suddenly  gained  large  sums  without  labor, 
and  also  without  honor,  were  too  ready  to  enter  upon  courses  of 
the  wildest  extravagance;  and  a  false  style  of  living  shortly  arose, 
the  poisonous  influence  of  which  extended  through  all  classes. 
Men  began  to  look  upon  railways  as  instruments  to  job  with ;  and 
they  soon  became  as  overrun  with  jobbers  as  London  cliarities. 
Persons,  sometimes  possessing  information  respecting  railways, 
but  more  frequently  possessing  none,  got  upon  boards  for  the 
purpose  of  promoting  their  individual  objects,  often  in  a  very 
unscrupulous  manner ;  land-owners,  to  promote  branch  lines 
through  their  property ;  speculators  in  shares,  to  trade  upon  the 
exclusive  information  which  they  obtained ;  whilst  some  directors 
were  appointed  through  the  influence  mainly  of  solicitors,  con- 
tractors, or  engineers,  who  used  them  as  tools  to  serve  their  own 
ends.  In  this  way  the  unfortunate  proprietors  were,  in  many 
cases,  betrayed,  and  their  jwopcrty  was  shamefully  squandered, 
to  the  further  discredit  of  the  railway  system. 

Among  the  characters  brought  prominently  into  notice  by  the 
mania,  was  the  railway  navvy.  The  navvy  was  now  a  great 
man.  He  had  grown  rich,  was  a  land-owner,  a  railway  share- 
holder, sometimes  even  a  member  of  Parliament ;  but  he  was  a 
navvy  still.  He  had  imported  the  characteristics  of  his  class  into 
his  new  social  position.  He  was  always  strong,  rough,  and 
ready ;  but  withal  he  was  unscrupulous.  If  there  was  a  stout 
piece  of  work  to  be  done,  none  could  carry  it  out  with  greater 
energy,  or  execute  it  in  better  style  according  to  contract — pro- 
vided he  was  watched.  But  the  navvy  contractor  was  greatly 
given  to  "  scamping."  He  was  up  to  all  sorts  of  disreputable 
tricks  of  the  trade.  In  building  a  tunnel,  he  would,  if  he  could, 
use  half-baked  clay  instead  of  bricks,  and  put  in  two  courses  in- 
stead of  four.  He  would  scamp  the  foundations  of  bridges,  use 
rubble  instead  of  stone  sets,  and  Canadian   timber  instead  of 


416  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

Memel  for  his  viaducts ;  but  he  was  greatest  of  all,  perhaps,  in 
the  "scamping"  of  ballast.  He  had  therefore — especially  the 
leviathan  navvy — to  be  very  closely  watched ;  and  this  was  gen- 
erally entrusted  to  railway  inspectors  at  comparatively  small 
salaries.  The  consequences  were  such  as  might  have  been  antici- 
pated. More  bad  and  dishonest  work  was  executed  on  the 
railways  constructed  in  any  single  year  subsequent  to  the  mania, 
than  Avas  to  be  found  on  all  the  Stephenson  lines  during  the 
preceding  twenty  years. 

The  mode  of  executing  railway  works,  first  adopted  by  Mr. 
Stephenson  on  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway,  and  after- 
wards continued  by  himself  and  his  son  on  the  other  lines  with 
which  they  were  connected,  was  this  :  The  railway  was  divided 
into  lengths  of  from  ten  to  twenty  miles,  and  an  assistant  engineer, 
usually  an  experienced  man,  on  whom  rehance  could  be  placed, 
was  appointed  to  the  charge  of  each  length.  Under  these  were 
sub-engineers,  generally  young  gentlemen  who  were  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson's apprentices  or  pupils,  gathering  valuable  experience 
in  his  engineering  school.  Under  them  again  were  inspectors, 
generally  of  tunneling  and  masonry ;  these  were,  in  most  cases, 
experienced  workmen.  The  contracts  were  let,  in  the  lengths 
above  mentioned,  to  the  best  contractors  that  could  be  found, 
according  to  a  schedule  of  prices — the  materials  requisite  to  form 
the  road,  including  girder  bridges,  etc.,  being  provided  by  the 
company.  The  detailed  plans  of  the  works  were  prepared  after 
consultation  with  the  assistant  engineer,  under  whose  immediate 
superintendence  they  were  to  be  executed.  The  levels  were 
taken  and  the  works  set  out  by  the  sub-engineers ;  the  greatest 
pains  being  taken  to  secure  accuracy.  The  centres  of  bridges, 
and  the  moulds  of  difficult  masonry,  were  struck  out  or  tested  by 
them  and  the  inspectors.  It  was  not  considered  correct,  under 
this  system,  for  the  engineers  to  be  on  intimate  terms  with  the 
contractors.  They  held  an  entirely  independent  position,  and 
were  free  to  reject  and  condemn  inferior  materials  or  bad  work- 


RAILWAY    "  SCAMPING."  417 

mansliip,  which  they  did  not  hesitate  to  do  for  their  own  credit's 
sake.  In  short,  the  most  vigilant  superintendence  was  maintained, 
and  a  high  standard  of  perfection,  both  in  design  and  execution, 
was  aimed  at.  And  the  results  were  perceptible  in  the  excellent 
character  of  the  work  executed  under  this  system. 

The  other  mode  of  forming  railways  became  more  general  after 
the  mania ;  and  under  that  system  the  ingenuity  of  the  navvy  had 
full  play.  The  line  was  let  in  much  larger  contracts  ;  sometimes 
one  of  the  leviathans  undertook  to  construct  an  entire  line  of  a 
hundred  miles  in  length,  or  more.  The  projecting  engineer,  in 
such  cases,  retained  in  his  own  hands  a  greater  share  of  nominal 
responsibility  —  he,  himself,  however,  as  well  as  the  resident 
engineer,  beinfj  free  to  engage  in  other  undertakings.  The 
assistant  engineers  were  generally  young  and  inexperienced  men 
of  inferior  standing.  The  contractor  was  left  more  to  himself, 
both  as  respected  the  quality  of  the  materials  and  the  workman- 
ship. The  navvy's  great  object  was  to  execute  the  work  so  that 
it  should  pass  muster,  and  be  well  paid  for.  The  contractor  in 
such  cases  was  generally  a  large  capitalist — a  man  looked  up  to 
even  by  the  chief  engineer  himself.  But  the  worst  feature  of 
this  system  was,  that  the  pi'incipal  engineer  himself  was  occasion- 
ally interested  as  a  partner,  and  shared  in  the  profits  of  the 
contract.  In  passing  the  contractor's  work,  he  was  virtually 
passing  his  own ;  and  in  certifying  the  monthly  pay  bills,  he  was 
a  party  to  the  paying  of  himself.  What  secui-ity  was  there, 
under  such  a  system,  for  either  honest  work  or  honest  accounts  ? 
And  what  probability  was  there,  that  the  small  sub-engineer — 
even  though  cognizant  of  the  facts — would  cai-efully  examine  the 
works,  or  critically  scrutinize  the  accounts  which  passed  under 
his  notice  ?  The  consequence  was,  that  a  great  deal  of  slop-work 
was  thus  executed,  the  results  of  which,  to  some  extent,  have 
already  appeared  in  the  falling  in  of  tunnels,  and  the  premature 
decay  and  failure  of  viaducts  and  bridges. 

Mr.  Stephenson  would  never  tolerate  such  a  system ;  he  put 

27 


418 


LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHEKSON. 


his  own  character  into  his  work ;  he  would  permit  no  dishonest 
scamping  of  a  contractor  to  escape  him ;  and  he  could  point  to 
his  Midland,  Manchester,  and  Leeds,  and  other  great  works,  and 
honestly  say  that  he  was  proud  of  them.  He  would  even  "  oflFer 
his  head,"  as  he  did  to  the  Manchester  directors,  that  his  tunnel 
would  stand ;  and  he  could  honestly  and  without  hesitation  vouch 
for  the  soundness  of  all  his  structures. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

MR.  STEPHENSON'S  CONNECTION  IVITH  MR.  HUDSON. 

Amongst  the  most  prominent  railway  men  of  the  day  with 
whom  Ml'.  Stephenson  was  necessarily  brought  into  frequent  and 
close  connection — more  especially  with  reference  to  the  comple- 
tion of  the  East  Coast  route  from  London  to  Edinburgh — was 
Mr.  George  Hudson  of  York,  afterwards  known  to  the  public  as 
"  The  Railway  King."  Mr.  Stephenson,  at  the  dinner  which 
followed  the  opening  of  the  York  and  Scarborough  line,  in  June, 
1845,  thus  described  his  first  introduction  to  Mr.  Hudson:  "I 
happened,"  said  he,  "  to  be  visiting  Whitby ;  and  whilst  I  was 
conversing  with  a  gentleman  of  that  town  as  to  what  might  be 
done  with  regai'd  to  the  formation  of  a  line  from  Leeds  to  York, 
a  few  of  the  Whitby  gentlemen  came  up  to  introduce  me  to  Mr. 
Hudson  and  several  York  gentlemen.  At  that  time  Mr.  Hudson 
was  not  to  be  led  into  a  rapid  movement  with  respect  to  railway 
speculations.  He  then  looked  very  coolly  at  those  undertakings  ; 
but  in  time  he  became  so  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  certainty 
of  great  results  from  improved  railway  communication,  that  he 
stretched  out  his  gigantic  arms,  and  was  prepared  to  go  north, 
south,  east  or  west,  wherever  a  line  could  be  pointed  out  as  being 
calculated  to  confer  benefit  upon  the  public  and  the  proprietors 
of  railways." 

When  the  first  line  from  Leeds  to  York  was  projected,  Mr. 
Hudson  was  a  respectable  draper  in  the  latter  place.     He  was 

(419) 


420  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

esteemed  as  a  shrewd,  practical  man  of  business,  had  accumulated 
property,  was  a  member  of  the  corporation,  and  an  active  politi- 
cian. As  one  of  the  managing  directors  of  the  Union  Bank,  he 
exercised  considerable  influence  on  the  commercial  affairs  of  his 
district.  When  a  provisional  committee  was  formed  at  York  to 
promote  a  Leeds  line,  Mr.  Hudson  was  requested  to  act  as  the 
deputy  chairman,  Mi-.  Alderman  Meek  being  the  chairman.  The 
reputation  which  Mr.  Stephenson  had  by  this  time  acquired  as  a 
successful  railway  engineer  induced  the  committee  to  invite  him 
to  act  as  their  engineer.  His  report  in  favor  of  the  line  connect- 
ing York  with  the  Midland  system  was  adopted,  and  the  act  was 
obtained  in  1835.  When  the  railway  was  opened,  in  1839,  Mr. 
Hudson  had  become  Lord  Mayor  of  York,  and  was  shortly  after 
elected  the  chairman  of  the  Company. 

Mr.  Hudson's  views  with  respect  to  railways  were,  at  first,  ex- 
tremely moderate,  and  his  intentions  were  most  honorable  and 
praiseworthy.  The  York  and  North  Midland  line  was  only  about 
thirty  miles  long ;  and  he  interested  himself  in  it  chiefly  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  for  York  the  advantages  of  the  new  system 
of  communication  which  Mr.  Stephenson  had  devised,  and  plac- 
ing it  in  the  most  favorable  position  with  reference  to  any  future 
extension  of  the  main  line  of  railway,  north  and  south.  Viewed 
in  this  light,  Mr.  Hudson  was  one  of  the  greatest  local  benefac- 
tors that  the  city  of  York  had  ever  known,  and  entitled  to  the 
gratitude  and  respect  of  his  fellow  citizens. 

The  railway  was  not  very  prosperous  at  first ;  and  during  the 
years  1840  and  1841  its  shares  had  greatly  sunk  in  value.  But 
Mr.  Hudson,  when  chairman  of  the  Company,  somehow  contrived 
to  pay  improved  dividends  to  the  proprietors,  who  asked  no  ques- 
tions. He  very  soon  exhibited  a  desire  to  extend  the  field  of  his 
operations,  and  proceeded  to  lease  the  Leeds  and  Selby  Railway 
at  five  per  cent.  That  line  had  been  a  losing  concern ;  so  its 
owners  struck  a  bargain  with  Mr.  Hudson  and  sounded  his  praises 
in  all  directions.     He  increased  the  dividends  on  the  York  and 


MR.  Hudson's  railway  career.  421 

North  Midland  shares  to  ten  per  cent.,  and  began  to  be  cited  as 
the  model  of  a  railway  chairman. 

He  next  interested  himself  in  the  North  Midland  Railway, 
where  he  appeared  in  the  character  of  a  reformer  of  abuses.  By 
this  time  he  had  secured  the  friendship  of  Mr.  Stephenson,  who 
had  a  high  opinion  of  his  practical  qualities  —  his  indefatigable 
industry  and  shrewdness  in  matters  of  business.  He  had  abun- 
dance of  pluck,  and  was  exceedingly  self-reliant.  The  North 
Midland  shares  had  also  gone  to  a  great  discount ;  and  the  share- 
holders were  very  willing  to  give  Mr.  Hudson  an  opportunity  of 
reforming  their  railway.  They  elected  him  a  director.  His 
bustling,  pushing,  persevering  character  soon  gave  him  an  influ- 
ential position  at  the  board ;  and  he  shortly  pushed  the  old  direc- 
tors from  their  stools.  He  labored  hard,  at  much  personal  incon- 
venience, to  help  the  concern  out  of  its  difficulties ;  and  he  suc- 
ceeded. The  new  directors  recognized  his  power,  and  elected 
him  their  chairman.  He  had  thus  conquered  an  important  and 
influential  position  as  a  railway  man. 

Railway  affairs  generally  revived  in  1842 ;  and  public  confi- 
dence in  them  as  profitable  investments  steadily  increased.  Mr. 
Hudson  had  the  benefit  of  this  growing  prosperity.  The  divi- 
dends in  his  lines  improved,  and  the  shares  rose  in  value.  The 
Lord  INIayor  of  York  began  to  be  quoted  as  one  of  the  most  ca- 
pable of  railway  directors.  Stimulated  by  his  success  and  en- 
couraged by  his  followers,  he  struck  out  or  supported  many  new 
projects — a  line  to  Scarborough,  a  line  to  Bradford,  lines  in  the 
Midland  districts,  and  lines  to  connect  York  with  Newcastle  and 
Edinburgh.  He  was  elected  chairman  of  the  Newcastle  and 
Darlington  Railway ;  and  when — in  order  to  complete  the  conti- 
nuity of  the  main  line  of  communication — it  was  found  necessary 
to  secure  the  Durham  Junction,  which  was  an  impoi'tant  link  in 
the  chain,  he  and  Mr.  Stephenson  boldly  purchased  that  railway 
between  them,  at  the  price  of  88,500^.  It  was  an  exceedingly 
fortunate  purchase ;  the  liability  was  afterwards  undertaken  by 


422  LIFE  OF    GEORGE    STEPnEXSON. 

the  parent  Company,  to  whom  it  was  worth  double  the  money. 
This  act  was  a  successful  stroke  of  policy,  and  was  lauded  as  it 
deserved  to  be.  'Mr.  Hudson,  thus  encouraged,  purchased  the 
Brandling  Junction  line  for  500,000/.,  in  his  own  name — an  ope- 
ration at  the  time  regarded  as  equally  favorable,  though  he  was 
afterwards  charged  with  appi'opriating  IGOO  of  the  new  shares 
created  for  the  purchase,  when  worth  21?.  premium  each.  The 
Great  North  of  England  hue  being  completed,  Mr.  Hudson  had 
thus  secured  the  entire  line  of  communication  from  York  to  New- 
castle ;  and  the  route  was  opened  to  the  public  in  June,  1844. 
On  that  occasion,  Newcastle  eulogized  Mr.  Hudson  in  its  choicest 
local  eloquence ;  and  he  was  pronounced  to  be  the  greatest  bene- 
factor the  district  had  ever  known. 

The  adulation  which  now  followed  Mr.  Hudson  would  have 
intoxicated  a  stronger  and  more  self-denying  man.  He  was  pro- 
nounced to  be  the  man  of  the  age,  and  was  hailed  as  The  Rail- 
way KiXG.  The  grand  test  by  which  the  shareholders  judged 
him  was  the  dividends  that  he  paid,  although  subsequent  events 
proved  that  these  dividends  were  in  many  cases  delusive,  intended 
only  "  to  make  things  pleasant."  The  policy,  however,  had  its 
effect.  The  shares  in  all  the  lines  of  which  he  was  chairman, 
went  to  a  premium ;  and  then  arose  the  temptation  to  create  new 
shares  in  branch  and  extension  lines,  often  worthless,  which  were 
issued  also  at  a  premium.  Thus  he  shortly  found  himself  chair- 
man of  nearly  600  miles  of  railways,  extending  from  Rugby  to 
Newcastle,  and  at  the  head  of  numerous  new  projects,  by  means 
of  which  paper  wealth  could  be  created,  as  it  were,  at  pleasure. 
He  held  in  his  own  hands  almost  the  entire  administrative  power 
of  the  companies  over  which  he  presided:  he  was  chairman, 
board,  manager,  and  all.  His  devoted  admirers,  for  the  time, 
inspired  sometunes  by  gi-atitude  for  past  favors,  but  oftener  by 
the  expectation  of  favors  to  come,  supported  him  in  all  his  meas- 
ures. At  the  meetings  of  the  companies,  if  any  suspicious  share- 
holder ventured  to  put  a  question  about  the  accounts,  he  was 


EULOGY    OF    MR.    STEPHENSON.  423 

summarily  put  down  by  the  cbair,  and  hissed  by  the  proprietors. 
Mr,  Hudson  was  voted  praises,  testimonials,  and  surplus  shares, 
alike  liberally ;  and  scarcely  a  word  against  him  could  find  a 
hearing.  He  was  equally  popular  outside  the  circle  of  railway 
proprietors.  His  entertainments  at  Albert  Gate  were  crowded ; 
and  he  went  his  round  of  visits  among  the  peerage  like  any 
prince. 

Of  course  Mr.  Hudson  was  a  great  authority  on  railway  ques- 
tions in  Parliament,  to  which  the  burgesses  of  Sunderland  had 
sent  him.  His  experience  of  railways,  still  little  understood, 
though  the  subject  of  so  much  legislation,  gave  value  and  weight 
to  his  opinions ;  and  in  many  respects  he  was  a  useful  member. 
During  the  first  years  of  his  membership,  he  was  chiefly  occupied 
in  passing  the  railway  bills  in  which  he  was  more  particularly 
interested.  And  in  the  session  of  1845,  when  he  was  at  the 
height  of  his  power,  it  was  triumphantly  said  of  him,  that  "  he 
walked  quietly  through  Parliament  with  some  sixteen  railway 
bills  under  his  arm."  One  of  these  bills,  however,  was  the  sub- 
ject of  a  very  severe  contest — we  mean  that  empowering  the 
construction  of  the  railway  from  Newcastle  to  Berwick.  It  was 
almost  the  only  bill  in  which  Mr.  Stephenson  was  that  year  con- 
cerned. Mr.  Hudson  displayed  great  energy  in  support  of  the 
measure,  and  he  worked  hard  to  insure  its  success  both  in  and 
out  of  Parliament ;  but  he  himself  attributed  the  chief  merit  to 
Mr.  Stephenson.  Lord  Howick,  the  leading  supporter  of  the 
rival  atmospheric  line,  proposed  a  compromise  ;  but  Mr.  Stephen- 
son urged  its  decided  rejection.  At  a  meeting  of  the  York,  New- 
castle and  Berwick  Company,  held  shortly  after  the  passing  of 
the  bill,  Mr.  Hudson  thus  acknowledsed  the  services  rendered  to 
them  by  their  consulting  engineer :  "  This  Company,"  said  he, 
"  is  indeed  under  great  obligations  to  Mr.  Stephenson.  Every 
shareholder,  who  is  about  to  get  his  additional  share,  is  almost 
entirely  indebted  to  him  for  it.  I  know,  and  my  brother  direc- 
tors know  full  well,  the  resolute  and  energetic  manner  in  which 


424  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPILENSON. 

he  held  us  from  any  compromise  in  reference  to  the  Berwick  bill. 
He  felt  so  strong  in  the  integrity  of  his  case,  that  whenever  com- 
promise was  named,  he  always  resisted  the  offer,  and  urged  us  to 
fight  the  battle  on  principle.  By  his  indomitable  perseverance 
and  high  tone  of  feeling,  we  were  induced  to  do  so,  and  thus  at 
length  we  have  so  successfully  accomplished  our  object." 

Mr.  Hudson  accordingly  suggested  to  the  proprietors  that  they 
should  present  some  fitting  testimonial  to  Mr.  Stephenson,  as  a 
recognition  of  the  important  services  which  he  had  rendered  to 
them,  as  well  as  to  the  railway  interest  generally.  With  the 
same  object,  he  appealed  to  the  proprietors  in  the  Midland,  the 
York  and  North  Midland,  and  the  Newcastle  and  Darlington 
Companies,  of  which  he  was  chairman,  and  they  unanimously 
adopted  resolutions,  voting  2,000?.  each  for  the  erection  of  a  statue 
of  George  Stephenson  on  the  High  Level  Bridge  at  Newcastle, 
and  the  presentation  to  him  of  a  service  of  plate,  "  in  testimony 
of  the  deep  obligations  under  which  the  above-mentioned  Com- 
panies, in  common  with  the  whole  country,  feel  themselves  placed 
towards  that  eminent  person."  * 

Mr.  Ellis,  M.  P.,  then  deputy  chairman  of  the  Midland,  in 
seconding  the  resolution  voting  2,000?.  for  the  purpose  indicated 
by  Mr.  Hudson,  said,  "  it  might  appear  to  many  strange  that  he 
should  do  so  [statues  not  being  recognized  objects  amongst  the 
Society  of  Friends] ;  but  he  did  so  with  all  his  heart.  He  be- 
lieved he  had  the  distinguished  honor  of  having  known  George 
Stephenson  longer  than  any  one  then  present.  Perhaps  he  could 
not  say  more  of  him  than  that  he  had  always  found  in  him  an 
uj)right,  honorable  and  honest  man."t 

At  the  meeting  of  the  York  and  North  Midland  Company,  the 
great  benefits  which  Mr.  Stephenson  had  conferred  on  the  public, 

♦  Resolution  of  the  York,   Newcastle  and   Berwick   Company,  unanimously  adopted 
3l8t  August,  1845. 

t  Report  of  proceedings  at  the  meeting  of  the  Midland  Railway  Company,  25th  July, 
1845. 


TESTIMONIAL    TO    MR,    HUDSON.  425 

by  opening  up  to  them  cheap  and  abundant  supplies  of  fuel  by 
means  of  railways,  were  strongly  expressed ;  and  Mr.  Hudson, 
in  concluding  his  observations,  said :  "  By  adopting  this  step,  we 
shall  show  tliat  we  are  not  the  sordid  persons  whom  some  have 
represented  us  to  be — merely  looking  for  our  own  pecuniary  ben- 
efit ;  but  that  we  are  a  body  of  men  who  know  how  to  appreciate 
and  admire  genius  and  talent,  and  that  we  are  not  unmindful  of 
the  benefits  which  that  talent  has  conferred  upon  us  and  upon 
mankind."*  The  resolution,  like  those  passed  by  the  other 
Companies,  was  adopted  unanimously,  and  with  "  loud  applause." 
But  there  ended  the  shai'eholders'  appreciation  of  Mr.  Stephen- 
son's genius  and  talent ;  and  Mr.  Hudson's  repudiation  of  sordid 
motives,  on  his  part  and  theirs,  thus  proved  somewhat  premature. 
The  contribution  of  subscriptions  to  present  a  testimonial  to 
Mr.  Hudson  himself  went  on  apace,  and  railway  shareholders  in 
all  parts  of  the  country,  subscribed  large  sums  of  money  to  pre- 
sent him  with  a  fortune  for  having  already  made  one.  But  Mr. 
Stephenson  pretended  to  fill  no  man's  pocket  with  premiums. 
He  was  no  creator  of  shares ;  he  could  not,  therefore,  work  upon 
shareholders'  gratitude  for  "  favors  to  come ; "  and  their  testimo- 
nial accordingly  ended  with  resolutions  and  speeches.  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson never  asked  for  nor  expected  a  testimonial.  He  had 
done  the  work  of  his  life,  and  had  retired  from  the  field  of  rail- 
way enterprise,  reposing  upon  his  own  sturdy  independence. 

Mr.  Stephenson  was  afterwards  somewhat  indignant  to  find 
that,  notwithstanding  the  "  great  obligations  "  which  the  chaii-man 
of  the  York,  Newcastle  and  Bei'wick  Company,  had  informed 
the  proprietors  they  were  under  to  their  engineer  for  the  labor 
and  energy  which  he  had  devoted  in  their  service,  so  much  to 
their  pecuniary  advantage,  the  only  issue  of  their  fine  resolutions 
and  speeches  was  an  allotment  made  to  him  of  some  thirty  of 
the  shares  issued  under  the  powers  of  the  act  which  he  had  been 
mainly  instrumental   in  obtaining.      The  chairman   himself,  it 

*  Report  of  proceedings  at  the  York  and  North  Midland  Company,  29th  June,  1845. 


426  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

afterwards  appeared,  had  at  the  same  time  appropriated  not  fewer 
than  10,894  of  the  same  shares,  the  premiums  on  which  were 
then  worth,  in  the  market,  about  145,000/.  The  manner  in 
which  the  gratitude  of  the  Company  and  their  chairman  was 
thus  expressed  to  their  engineer,  was  strongly  resented  by  Mr. 
Stephenson  at  the  time,  and  a  coohiess  took  ph'ice  between  him 
and  Mr.  Hudson  which  was  never  wholly  removed — though  they 
afterwards  shook  hands,  and  Mr.  Stephenson  declared  that  all 
was  forgotten. 

INIi-.  Hudson's  brief  reign  was  now  drawing  rapidly  to  a  close. 
The  saturnalia  of  1845  was  followed  by  a  sudden  reaction. 
Shares  went  down  faster  than  they  had  gone  up ;  the  holders  of 
them  hastened  to  sell,  in  order  to  avoid  payment  of  the  calls ; 
and  the  fortunes  of  many  were  utterly  wrecked.  Then  came 
sudden  repentance,  and  professed  return  to  virtue.  The  betting 
man,  who,  temporarily  abandoning  the  turf  for  the  share-market, 
had  played  his  heaviest  stakes  and  lost — the  merchant  who  had 
left  his  business,  and  the  doctor  who  had  neglected  his  patients, 
to  gamble  in  railway  stock,  and  been  ruined — the  penniless  knaves 
and  schemers,  who  had  speculated  so  recklessly,  and  gained  so 
little — the  titled  and  fashionable  people,  who  had  bowed  them- 
selves so  low  before  the  idol  of  the  day,  and  found  themselves  so 
deceived  and  "done"  —  the  credulous  small  capitalists,  who, 
dazzled  by  premiums,  had  invested  their  all  in  railway  shares, 
and  now  saw  themselves  stripped  of  everything — the  Average 
Directors,  who  "  never  knew  what  was  going  on  and  thought  all 
was  right,"  but  now  found  that  all  was  wrong — the  tradesmen 
who  had  sold  their  business  to  become  sharebrokers,  and  had 
now  reached  the  Gazette — were  all  grievously  enraged,  and  looked 
about  them  for  a  victim.  In  this  temper  were  shareholders, 
when,  at  a  railway  meeting  in  York,  some  pertinent  questions 
were  put  to  the  Railway  King.  His  replies  were  not  satisfactory; 
and  the  questions  were  pushed  home.  Mr.  Hudson  became  con- 
fused.    Angry  voices  rose  in  the  meeting.     Tlie  monarch  was 


RESULT  OF  THE  SATURNALIA.  427 

even  denounced.  A  committee  of  investigation  was  appointed, 
and  the  gilt  idol  of  the  railway  wox'ld  was  straightway  dethi'oned. 
A  howl  of  execration  rose  from  his  deluded  worshipers ;  and 
those  who  had  bowed  the  lowest  before  him  during  his  brief  reign, 
hissed  the  loudest  when  he  fell.  The  gold  which  he  had  put  in 
their  pockets  might  still  be  heard  chinking  there  ;  but  no  one  had 
yet  found  them  out,  and  they  joined  in  the  chorus  of  popular 
indignation.  Then  committees  of  investigation  were  appointed 
on  nearly  all  the  railways ;  able  reports  by  patriotic  candidates 
for  seats  at  boards  were  successively  published ;  and,  railways 
having  been  exorcised,  and  one  of  their  evil  spirits  cast  out,  rail- 
way virtue  was  again  supposed  to  be  in  the  ascendant. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

MK.  STEPHENSON'S  CONNECTION  WITH  FOREIGN  RAILWAYS  — JOURNEYS 
INTO  BELGIUM  AND  SPAIN. 

Leopold,  King  of  the  Belgians,  was  the  first  European  mon- 
arch who  discovered  the  powerful  instrumentality  of  railways  in 
developing  the  industrial  resources  of  a  nation.  Having  resided 
in  England  during  the  infancy  of  our  railway  enterprises,  he  had 
personally  inspected  the  lines  in  operation,  and  satisfied  himself 
of  their  decided  superiority  over  all  known  modes  of  transit.  He 
therefore  determined  at  the  earliest  possible  period  to  adopt  them 
as  the  great  high  roads  of  his  new  kingdom. 

Belgium  had  scarcely  escaped  from  the  throes  of  her  revolu- 
tion, and  Leopold  had  only  been  a  short  time  called  to  the  throne, 
when  by  his  command  the  first  project  of  a  Belgian  railway  was 
laid  before  him.  It  was  a  modest  project  it  is  true,  a  single  line 
from  Antwerp  to  Liege,  requiring  a  capital  of  only  400,000/. 
But  small  though  it  was,  his  ministers  even  feared  that  the 
project  was  too  ambitious,  and  that  the  king  was  about  to  embark 
his  government  in  an  enterprise  beyond  his  strength.  There  was 
as  yet  only  the  experiment  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester 
passenger  railway  to  justify  him ;  but  in  his  opinion  that  had 
been  complete  and  decisive. 

The  bill  for  the  Antwerp  and  Liege  line  struggled  with  difii- 
culty  through  the  Chambers,  and  it  became  law  in  1834.  Before 
the  measure  received   legislative  sanction,  the  plan    had  been 

(428) 


JOURNEY   TO    BELGIUM.  429 

enlarofed,  and  powers  were  taken  to  construct  an  almost  entire 
system  of  lines,  embracing  the  principal  districts  of  Belgium ; 
connecting  Brussels  with  all  the  chief  cities,  and  extending  from 
Ostend  eastward  to  the  Prussian  frontier,  and  from  Antwerp 
southward  to  the  French  frontier.  The  total  extent  of  railway 
thus  authorized  was  246  miles.  The  eventual  success  of  this 
measure  was  mainly  due  to  the  energy  and  sagacious  enterprise 
of  the  king.  He  foresaw  the  immense  advantages  of  the  railway 
system,  and  its  applicability  to  the  wants  of  such  a  state  as  Bel- 
gium. The  country  being  rich  in  coal  and  minerals,  had  great 
manufacturing  capabilities.  It  had  good  ports,  fine  navigable 
rivers,  abundant  canals,  and  a  teeming,  industrious  population. 
He  perceived  railways  were,  of  all  things,  the  best  calculated  to 
bring  the  industry  of  the  country  into  full  play,  and  to  render  the 
riches  of  his  provinces  available  to  all  the  rest  of  the  kingdom. 
King  Leopold  therefore  openly  declared  himself  the  promoter  of 
public  railways  throughout  Belgium.  The  execution  of  the  works 
was  immediately  commenced,  the  money  being  provided  by  the 
state.  Every  official  influence  was  called  into  active  exertion  for 
the  development  of  these  great  enterprises.  And,  in  oi'der  to 
prevent  the  Belgian  enterprise  becoming  in  any  sort  converted 
into  a  stock-jobbing  speculation,  it  was  wisely  provided  that  the 
shares  were  not  to  be  quoted  on  the  Exchange  at  Antwerp  or 
Brussels,  until  the  railway  was  actually  completed. 

Mr.  George  Stephenson  and  his  son,  as  the  leading  railway 
engineers  of  England,  were  consulted  by  the  King  of  the  Bel- 
gians, as  to  the  formation  of  the  most  efficient  system  of  lines 
throughout  his  kingdom,  as  early  as  1835.  In  the  course  of  that 
year,  Mi".  Stephenson  visited  Belgium,  and  had  some  interesting 
conferences  with  King  Leopold  and  his  ministers  on  the  subject 
of  the  proposed  railways.  On  that  occasion  the  king  appointed 
him  by  royal  ordinance  a  Knight  of  the  Order  of  Leopold.  Im- 
provements of  the  system  were  recommended  and  adopted ;  and 
in  1837,  a  law  was  passed,  authorizing  the  construction  of  addi- 


430  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

tional  lines — from  Ghent  to  Mouscron  on  the  French  frontier — ■ 
from  Courtray  to  Tournai — from  Brain-le-Comte  to  Namur — 
with  several  smaller  branches.  These,  with  the  lines  previously 
authorized,  made  a  total  length  of  341  English  miles. 

Much  diligence  was  displayed  by  the  government  in  pushing 
on  the  works ;  the  representatives  of  the  people  in  the  Chambers 
now  surpassing  even  the  king  himself  in  their  anticipation  of  the 
great  public  benefits  to  be  derived  from  railways.  The  first 
twelve  miles  between  Brussels  and  Malines  were  opened  in  1835, 
a  year  after  the  passing  of  the  law ;  and  successive  portions  were 
opened  from  time  to  time,  until  the  year  1844,  when  the  entire 
national  system  was  completed  and  opened,  after  a  total  outlay 
on  works,  stations,  and  plant,  of  about  six  and  a  half  millions 
sterling.  Never  did  any  legislature  expend  public  money  in  a 
wiser  manner  for  the  promotion  of  the  common  good.  As  the 
Belgian  lines  were  executed  as  an  entire  system  by  the  state, 
there  was  no  wasteful  parliamentary  expenditure,  and  no  con- 
struction of  unnecessary  duplicate  lines ;  the  whole  capital  invest- 
ed was  remunerative ;  and  the  Belgian  people  thus  obtained  the 
full  advantages  of  railways  at  less  than  one  half  the  average  cost 
of  those  in  England. 

At  the  invitation  of  the  king,  Mr.  Stephenson  made  a  visit  to 
Belgium  in  1837,  on  the  occasion  of  the  public  opening  of  the 
line  from  Brussels  to  Ghent.  The  event  was  celebrated  with 
great  ceremony.  At  Brussels  there  was  a  public  procession,  and 
another  at  Ghent  on  the  arrival  of  the  train.  Mr.  Stephenson 
and  his  party  accompanied  it  to  the  Public  Hall,  there  to  dine 
with  the  chief  ministers  of  state,  the  municipal  authorities,  and 
about  five  hundred  of  the  principal  inhabitants  of  the  city ;  the 
English  ambassador  being  also  present.  After  the  king's  health 
and  a  few  others  had  been  drank,  that  of  Mr.  Stephenson  was 
proposed ;  on  which  the  whole  assembly  rose  up,  amidst  great 
excitement  and  loud  applause,  and  made  their  way  to  where  he 
Bat,  in  order  to  jingle  glasses  with  him,  greatly  to  his  own  amaze- 


THE    SAMBRE   AND    MEUSE    LINE.  431 

ment.  On  the  day  following,  Mr.  Stephenson  dined  with  the 
king  and  queen  at  their  own  table  at  Laaken,  by  special  invita- 
tion ;  afterwards  accompanying  his  majesty  and  suite  to  a  public 
ball  given  by  the  municipality  of  Brussels,  in  honor  of  the  open- 
ing of  the  line  to  Ghent,  as  well  as  of  their  distinguished  English 
guest.  On  entering  the  room,  the  general  and  excited  inquiry 
was,  "  Which  is  Stephenson?"  The  English  engineer  had  never 
before  known  that  he  was  esteemed  so  great  a  man. 

When  the  success  of  railways  in  Belgium  was  no  longer  matter 
of  conjecture,  capitalists  were  ready  to  come  forward  and  under- 
take their  formation,  Avithout  aid  from  the  government ;  and 
several  independent  companies  were  fox*med  in  England  for  the 
construction  of  new  lines  in  the  country.  Mr.  Stephenson  was 
professionally  consulted  respecting  several  of  these  in  the  year 
1845.  The  Sambre  and  Meuse  Company  having  obtained  the 
concession  of  a  line  from  the  legislature,*  Mr.  Steplienson  pro- 
ceeded to  Belgium  for  the  purpose  of  examining  in  person  the 
district  through  which  the  proposed  line  was  to  pass.  He  was 
accompanied  on  this  occasion  by  Mr.  Sopwith  and  Mr.  Starbuck : 
the  former  gentleman  a  highly  distinguished  Northumberland 
geologist,  intimately  conversant  with  the  coal-bearing  strata,  who 
had  already  published  an  elaborate  report  on  the  nature  and 
extent  of  the  coal  and  minei'al  disti'icts  of  the  Sambre  Meuse. 

Mr.  Stephenson  went  carefully  over  the  whole  length  of  the 
pi'oposed  line,  as  far  as  Couvin,  the  Forest  of  Ardennes,  and 
Rocroi,  aci'oss  the  French  frontier.  He  examined  the  bearings 
of  the  coal-field,  the  slate  and  marble  quarries,  and  the  numerous 

*  The  king,  in  his  speech  to  the  Chambers,  in  opening  the  session  of  1845,  said :  "  Ever 
since  the  National  Railways  hare  reached  the  French  and  German  frontiers,  the  convey- 
ance of  goods  and  passengers,  and  the  amount  of  the  receipts,  have  rapidly  and  unceas- 
ingly advanced.  The  results  obtained  this  year  have  surpassed  my  expectations.  Your 
last  session  was  distinguished,  towards  its  close,  by  the  vote  of  several  projects  of  railways 
and  canals.  The  favorable  reception  given  to  foreign  capitalists  has  led  to  many  demands 
for  the  concession  of  lines.  Some  of  these  demands,  after  being  examined,  will  be  sub- 
mitted to  your  deliberation." 


432  LIFE  OF   GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

iron  mines  in  existence  between  the  Sambre  and  the  Meuse,  care- 
fully exploring  the  ravines  which  extended  through  the  district, 
in  order  to  satisfy  himself  that  the  best  possible  route  had  been 
selected.  He  was  delighted  with  the  novelty  of  the  journey,  the 
beauty  of  the  scenery,  and  the  industry  of  the  population.  His 
companions  were  entertained  by  his  ample  and  varied  stores  of 
practical  information  on  all  subjects ;  and  his  conversation  was 
full  of  reminiscences  of  his  youth,  on  which  he  always  delighted 
to  dwell  when  in  the  society  of  his  more  intimate  friends  and 
associates.  The  journey  was  varied  by  a  visit  to  the  coal-mines 
near  Jemappe,  where  'Mr.  Stephenson  examined  with  interest  the 
mode  adopted  by  the  Belgian  miners  of  draining  the  pits,  their 
engines  and  brakeing  machines,  so  familiar  to  him  in  his  early 
life.  At  intervals  of  their  journey,  Mr.  Stephenson  prepared,  in 
conjunction  with  Mr.  Sopwith,  the  draft  of  a  report  embodying 
the  result  of  their  investigations,  Avhich  was  presented  to  the 
Sambre  and  Meuse  Company,  and  afterwards  published. 

The  engineers  of  Belgium  took  the  opportunity  of  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson's visit  to  their  country  to  invite  him  to  a  magnificent 
banquet  at  Brussels.  The  Public  Hall,  in  which  they  entertained 
him,  was  gaily  decorated  with  flags,  prominent  amongst  which 
was  the  Union  Jack,  in  honor  of  their  distinguished  guest.  A 
handsome  marble  pedestal,  ornamented  with  his  bust,  crowned 
with  laurels,  occupied  one  end  of  the  room.  The  chair  was  occu- 
pied by  M.  Massui,  the  Chief  Director  of  the  National  Railways 
of  Belgium ;  and  the  most  eminent  scientific  men  in  the  kingdom 
were  present.  Their  reception  of  "the  father  of  railways"  was 
of  the  most  enthusiastic  description.  Mr.  Stephenson  was  greatly 
pleased  with  the  entertainment.  Not  the  least  interesting  incident 
of  the  evening  was  his  observing,  when  the  dinner  was  about  half 
over,  a  model  of  a  locomotive  engine  placed  upon  the  centre 
table,  under  a  triumjohal  arch.  Turning  suddenly  to  his  friend 
Sopwith,  he  exclaimed,  "Do  you  see  the  'Rocket?'"  It  was 
indeed  the  model  of  that  celebrated  engine ;  and  Mr.  Stephenson 


PRIVATE   INTERVIEW    WITH   THE    KING.  433 

prized  the  compliment  thus  paid  him,  perhaps  more  than  all  the 
encomiums  of  the  evening. 

The  next  day  (April  5  th)  King  Leopold  invited  him  to  a  pri- 
vate interview  at  the  palace.  Accompanied  by  Mr.  Sopwith,  he 
proceeded  to  Laaken,  and  was  very  cordially  received  by  his 
majesty.  Nothing  was  more  remarkable  in  Mr.  Stephenson  than 
his  extreme  ease  and  self-possession  in  the  presence  of  distin- 
guished and  highly-educated  persons.  The  king  immediately 
entered  into  familiar  conversation  with  him,  discussing  the  rail- 
way project  Avhicli  had  been  the  object  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  visit 
to  Belgium,  and  then  the  structure  of  the  Belgian  coal-fields^ 
the  king  expressing  his  sense  of  the  great  importance  of  economy 
in  a  fuel  which  had  become  indispensable  to  the  comfort  and 
well-being  of  society,  which  was  the  basis  of  all  manufactures, 
and  the  vital  power  of  railway  locomotion.  The  subject  was 
always  a  favorite  one  with  Mr.  Stephenson,  and,  encoui-aged  by 
the  king,  he  proceeded  to  describe  to  him  the  geological  structure 
of  Belgium,  the  original  formation  of  coal,  its  subsequent  eleva- 
tion by  volcanic  forces,  and  the  vast  amount  of  denudation.  In 
describing  the  coal-beds,  he  used  his  hat  as  a  sort  of  model  to 
illustrate  his  meaning ;  and  the  eyes  of  the  king  were  fixed  upon 
it  as  he  proceeded  with  liis  interesting  description.  The  conver- 
sation then  passed  to  the  rise  and  progress  of  ti'ade  and  manufac- 
tures— Mr.  Stephenson  pointing  out  how  closely  they  everywhere 
followed  the  coal,  being  mainly  dependent  upon  it,  as  it  were,  for 
their  very  existence. 

The  king  seemed  greatly  pleased  with  the  interview,  and  at  its 
close  expressed  himself  obliged  by  the  interesting  information 
which  Mr.  Stephenson  had  given  him.  Shaking  hands  cordially 
with  both  the  gentlemen,  and  wishing  them  success  in  all  their 
important  undertakings,  he  bade  them  adieu.  As  they  were 
leaving  the  palace,  Mr.  Stephenson,  bethinking  him  of  the  model 
by  which  he  had  just   been  illustrating  the  Belgian  coal-fields, 

said  to  his  friend :  "  By-the-bye,  Sopwith,  I  was  afraid  the  king 

28 


434  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

would  see  the  inside  of  my  hat;  it's  such  a  shocking  bad  one!" 
Little  could  George  Stephenson,  when  brakesman  at  a  coal-pit, 
have  dreampt  that,  in  the  course  of  his  life,  he  should  be  admitted 
to  an  interview  with  a  monarch,  and  describe  to  him  the  manner 
in  which  the  geological  foundations  of  his  kingdom  had  been  laid  ! 

In  the  course  of  the  same  year  Mr.  Stephenson  paid  a  second 
visit  to  Belgium,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the  direction  of 
the  proposed  West  Flanders  Railway,  and  of  suggesting  any 
alterations  which  his  judgment  might  point  out.  The  results  of 
his  investigations  were  set  forth  in  his  report  of  August,  1845, 
in  which  he  recommended  several  important  alterations,  with  a 
view  to  facilitate  the  execution  of  the  works,  and  to  increase  the 
traffic  of  the  line.  The  inspection  of  the  country  lasted  ten  days. 
After  the  concession  of  this  railway  had  been  made  to  the  English 
Company,  other  parties  appeared  in  the  field,  and  projected  lines 
which,  if  carried  out,  would  seriously  affect  the  success  of  the 
West  Flanders  project.  The  government  of  King  Leopold,  how- 
ever, on  a  representation  to  this  effect  having  been  made  to  them, 
at  once  distinctly  stated  that  the  lines  already  conceded  would 
always  be  protected,  and  that  no  new  lines  would  be  granted, 
however  little  they  might  affect  those  already  existing,  without 
the  proprietors  of  the  latter  being  fully  heard. 

Mr.  Stephenson  had  scarcely  returned  from  this  second  visit  to 
Belgium,  before  he  was  requested  to  proceed  to  Spain,  for  the 
purpose  of  examining  and  reporting  upon  a  scheme  then  on  foot 
for  constructing  "  the  Royal  North  of  Spain  Railway."  He  set 
out  from  London  in  the  middle  of  September,  accompanied  by 
Sir  Joshua  Walmsley  and  several  other  gentlemen  interested  in 
the.  project.  A  concession  had  been  made  by  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernment of  a  line  of  railway  from  Madrid  to  the  Bay  of  Biscay, 
and  a  numerous  staff  of  engineers  was  engaged  in  surveying  the 
proposed  line.  The  directors  of  the  Company  had  declined  mak- 
ing the  necessary  deposits  until  more  favorable  terms  had  been 
secured,  and  the  object  of  Sir  Joshua  Walmsley's  journey  was  to 


JOURNEY    TO    SPAIN.  435 

press  the  Spanish  government  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Stephenson 
whom  he  consulted,  was  alive  to  the  difficulties  of  the  office  which 
Sir  Josliua  was  requested  to  undertake,  and  offered  to  be  his 
companion  and  adviser  on  the  occasion — declining  to  receive  any" 
recompense  beyond  the  simple  expenses  of  the  journey.  The 
railway  mania  was  then  at  its  height ;  and  though  Mr.  Stephen- 
son was  not  concerned  in  the  multitude  of  new  schemes  which 
were  daily  coming  out,  he  was  engaged  on  some  important  meas- 
ures, and,  besides,  had  his  own  extensive  collieries  at  Clay  Cross 
to  look  after.  He  could,  therefore,  only  arrange  to  be  absent  for 
six  weeks,  and  he  set  out  for  England  about  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember, 1845. 

The  party  was  joined  at  Paris  by  ]\Ir.  Mackenzie,  the  con- 
tractor for  the  Orleans  and  Tours  Railway,  then  in  course  of  con- 
struction, who  took  them  over  the  works,  and  accompanied  them 
as  far  as  Tours.  Sir  Joshua  "Walmsley  was  struck  during  the 
journey  by  Mr.  Stephenson's  close  and  accurate  observation. 
Nothing  escaped  his  keen  eye.  The  external  features  of  the  dis- 
trict passed  through,  every  fissure  or  disruption  in  the  mountain 
ridges,  the  direction  of  the  rivers,  the  stratification  and  geological 
formation  of'  the  country,  were  carefully,  though  rapidly  noted. 
The  modes  of  farming  were  also  observed ;  and  he  compared  the 
herds  of  cattle,  the  horses  and  mules,  with  those  which  he  had 
observed  in  his  own  and  other  countries.  Nor  did  he  fail  to  ob- 
serve closely  the  agricultural  products,  and /he  fruits  and  flowers 
grown  in  the  gardens  of  the  villages  through  which  they  passed. 
Of  course  he  was  fully  alive  to  any  important  engineering  works 
which  came  in  his  way.  Thus,  in  crossing  the  river  Dordogne, 
on  the  road  to  Bordeaux,  he  was  struck  with  the  construction  of 
the  stupendous  chain  bridge  which  had  recently  been  erected 
there.  Not  satisfied  with  his  first  inspection,  he  walked  back, 
and  again  crossed  the  bridge.  On  reaching  the  shore,  he  said : 
"  This  bridge  cannot  stand  ;  it  is  impossible  that  it  can  sustain  the 
necessary  pressure.     Supposing  a  large  body  of  troops  to  march 


436  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   PTEPHENSO^T. 

over  it,  there  would  be  so  much  oscillation  as  to  cause  the  great- 
est danger ;  in  fact,  it  could  not  stand."  And  he  determined  to 
write  to  the  public  authorities,  warning  them  on  the  subject ; 
which  he  did.  His  judgment  proved  to  be  quite  correct,  for  only 
a  few  years  after,  no  improvement  having  been  made  in  the 
bridge,  a  body  of  troops  marching  over  it  under  the  precise  cir- 
cumstances which  he  had  imagined,  the  chains  broke,  the  men 
were  precipitated  into  the  river,  and  many  lives  were  lost. 

They  soon  reached  the  great  chain  of  the  Pyrenees,  and  cross- 
ed over  into  Spain.  It  was  on  Sunday  evening,  after  a  long  day's 
toilsome  journey  through  the  mountains,  that  the  party  suddenly 
found  themselves  in  one  of  those  beautiful  secluded  valleys  lying 
amongst  the  Western  Pyrenees.  A  small  hamlet  lay  before  them, 
consisting  of  some  thirty  or  forty  houses  and  a  fine  old  church. 
The  sun  was  low  on  the  horizon,  and,  under  the  wide  porch,  be- 
neath the  shadow  of  the  church,  were  seated  nearly  all  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  place.  They  were  dressed  in  their  holiday  attire. 
The  delightful  bits  of  red  and  rich  amber  color  of  the  women, 
and  the  gay  sashes  of  the  men,  formed  a  striking  picture,  on 
which  the  travelers  gazed  in  silent  admiration.  It  was  something 
entirely  novel  and  unexpected.  Beside  the  villagers  sat  two 
venerable  old  men,  whose  canonical  hats  indicated  their  quality 
of  village  pastors.  Two  groups  of  young  women  and  children 
were  dancing  outside  the  porch  to  the  accompaniment  of  a  simple 
pipe ;  and  within  a  hundred  yards  of  them,  some  of  the  youths 
of  the  village  were  disporting  themselves  in  athletic  exercises ; 
the  whole  being  carried  on  beneath  the  fostering  care  of  the  old 
church,  and  with  the  sanction  of  its  ministers.  It  was  a  beautiful 
scene,  and  deeply  moved  the  travelers  as  they  approached  the 
principal  group.  The  villagers  greeted  them  courteously,  sup- 
plied their  present  wants,  and  pressed  upon  them  some  fine  melons, 
brought  from  their  adjoining  gardens.  Mr.  Stephenson  used 
afterwards  to  look  back  upon  that  simple  scene,  and  speak  of  it 
as  one  of  the  most  charming  pastorals  he  had  ever  witnessed. 


MADRID    AND    BAY    OF   BISCAY    SCHEME.  437 

They  shortly  reached  the  site  of  the  proposed  railway,  passing 
through  Irun,  St.  Sebastian,   St.  Andero,  and  Bilbao,  at  which 
places  they  met  deputations  of  the  principal  inhabitants  who  were 
interested    in    the  subject  of  their  journey.     At  Raynosa,   Mr 
Stephenson  carefully  examined  the  mountain  passes  and  ravines 
through  which  a  railway  could  he  formed.     He  rose  at  break  of 
day,  and  surveyed  until  the  darkness  set  in ;  and  frequently  his 
resting-place  at  night  was  the  floor  of  some  miserable  hovel. 
He  was   thus  laboriously  occupied  for  ten  days,  after  which  he 
proceeded  across  the  province  of  Old  Castile  towards  Madrid, 
surveying  as  he  went.    The  proposed  plan  included  the  purchase 
of  the  Castile  canal ;  and  that  property  was  also  surveyed.     He 
next  proceeded  to  El  Escorial,  situated  at  the  foot  of  the  Gua- 
darrama  mountains,  through  which  he  found  that  it  would  be 
necessary  to  construct  two  formidable  tunnels ;  added  to  which 
he  ascertained  that  the  country  between  El  Escorial  and  Madrid 
was  of  a  very  ditlicult  and  expensive  character  to  work  through. 
Taking  these  circumstances  into  account,  and  looking  to  the  ex- 
pected traffic  on  the  proposed  line,  Sir  Joshua  Walmsley,  acting 
under  the  ad^•ice  of  Mr.  Stephenson,  offered  to  construct  the  line 
from  Madrid  to  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  only  on  condition  that  the 
requisite  land  was  given  to  the  Company  for  the  purpose ;  that 
they  should  be  allowed  every  facility  for  cutting  such  timber  be- 
longing to  the  Crown  as  might  be  required  for  the  purposes  of 
the  railway ;  and  also  that  the  materials  required  from  abroad 
for  the  construction  of  the  line  should  be  admitted  free  of  duty. 
In  return  for  these  concessions,  the  Company  offered  to  clothe  and 
feed  several  thousands  of  convicts  while  engaged  in  the  execution 
of  the  earthworks.     General  Narvaez,  afterwards  Duke  of  Va- 
lencia, received  Sir  Joshua  Walmsley  and  Mr.  Stephenson  on  the 
subject  of  then-  proposition,  and  expressed  his  willingness  to  close 
with  them ;  but  it  was  necessary  that  other  influential  parties 
should  give  their  concurrence  before  the  scheme  could  be  carried 
into  effect.    The  deputation  waited  ten  days  to  receive  the  answer 


438  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

of  the  Spanish  government;  but  no  answer  of  any  kind  was 
vouchsafed.  Mr.  Stephenson  accordingly  dissuaded  his  friend 
from  making  the  necessary  deposit  at  Madrid.  Besides,  he  had 
by  this  time  formed  an  unfavorable  opinion  of  the  entire  project, 
and  considered  that  the  traffic  would  not  amount  to  one-eighth  of 
the  estimate. 

Mr.  Stephenson  was  now  anxious  to  be  in  England.  During 
the  journey  from  Madrid,  he  often  spoke  with  affection  of  friends 
and  relatives ;  and,  when  apparently  absorbed  by  other  matters, 
he  would  revert  to  what  he  thought  might  then  be  psissing  at 
home.  Few  incidents  worthy  of  notice  occurred  on  the  journey 
homeward,  but  one  may  be  mentioned.  AVhile  traveling  in  an 
open  conveyance  between  Madrid  and  Vittoria,  the  driver  was 
urging  his  mules  down  hill  at  a  dangerous  pace.  He  was  re- 
quested to  slacken  speed ;  but  suspecting  his  passengers  to  be 
afraid,  he  only  flogged  the  brutes  into  a  still  more  furious  gallop. 
Observing  this,  Mr.  Stephenson  coolly  said,  "  Let  us  try  him  on 
the  other  tack ;  tell  him  to  show  us  the  fastest  pace  at  which 
Spanish  mules  can  go."  The  rogue  of  a  driver,  when  he  found 
his  tricks  of  no  avail,  pulled  up  and  proceeded  at  a  moderate  rate 
for  the  rest  of  his  journey. 

Urgent  business  required  Mr.  Stephenson's  presence  in  Lon- 
don on  the  last  day  of  November.  They  traveled,  therefore, 
almost  continuously,  day  and  night ;  and  the  fatigue  consequent 
on  the  journey,  added  to  the  privations  voluntarily  endured  by 
the  engineer  while  carrying  on  the  survey  among  the  Spanish 
mountains,  began  to  tell  seriously  on  his  health.  By  the  time 
he  reached  Paris,  he  was  evidently  ill ;  but  he  nevertheless  de- 
termined on  proceeding.  He  reached  Plavre  in  time  for  the 
Southampton  boat ;  but  when  on  board,  pleurisy  developed  itself, 
and  it  was  necessary  to  bleed  him  freely.  During  the  voyage, 
he  spent  his  time  chiefly  in  dictating  letters  and  reports  to  Sir 
Joshua  Walmsley,  who  never  left  him,  and  whose  kindness  on  the 
occasion  he  gratefully  remembered.     His  friend  was  struck  by 


MADRID    AND    BAY    OF    BISCAY    SCHEME.  439 

the  clearness  of  his  dictated  composition,  which  exhibited  a  vigor 
and  condensation  wliich  to  him  seemed  marvelous.  After  a  few 
weeks'  rest  at  home,  Mr.  Stephenson  gradually  recovered,  though 
his  health  remained  severely  shaken. 

On  his  report  being  presented  to  the  shareholders  in  the  pro- 
jected "  Royal  North  of  Spain  Railway,"  in  the  course  of  the 
following  month,  it  was  so  decidedly  unfavorable,  that  the  project 
was  abandoned  and  the  Company  forthwith  dissolved. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV, 


RESIDENCE  AT  TAPTON. 


Towards  the  close  of  his  life,  Mr.  Stephenson  almost  entirely 
withdrew  from  the  active  pursuit  of  his  profession  as  a  railway 
engineer.  He  devoted  himself  chiefly  to  his  extensive  collieries 
and  lime-works,  taking  a  local  interest  only  in  such  projected 
railways  as  were  calculated  to  open  up  new  markets  for  their 
products. 

At  home  he  lived  the  life  of  a  country  gentleman,  enjoying 
his  garden  and  his  grounds,  and  indulging  his  love  of  nature, 
which,  through  all  his  busy  life,  had  never  left  him.  It  was  not 
until  the  year  1845,  that  he  took  an  active  interest  in  horticultu- 
ral pursuits.  Then  he  began  to  build  new  melon-houses,  pineries, 
and  vineries  of  great  extent ;  and  he  now  seemed  as  eager  to 
excel  all  other  growers  of  exotic  plants  in  the  neighborhood  as 
he  had  been  to  surpass  the  villagers  of  Killingworth  in  the  pro- 
duction of  gigantic  cabbages  and  cauliflowers  some  thirty  years 
before.  He  had  a  pine-house  built  sixty-eight  feet  in  length,  and 
a  pinery  one  hundred  and  forty  feet.  The  workmen  were  never 
idle  about  the  garden,  and  the  additions  to  the  forcing-houses  pro- 
ceeded until  at  length  he  had  no  fewer  than  ten  glass  forcing- 
houses,  heated  with  hot  water,  which  he  was  one  of  the  first  to 
introduce  in  that  neighborhood.  He  did  not  take  so  much  pleas- 
ure in  flowers  as  in  fruits.  At  one  of  the  county  agricultural 
meetings,  he  said  that  he  intended  yet  to  grow  pineapples  at  Tap- 

(440) 


GARDENING    AT   TAPTON.  441 

ton  as  big  as  pumpkins.  The  only  man  to  whom  he  would 
"  knock  under  "  was  his  friend  Paxton,  the  gardener  to  the  Duke 
of  Devonshire ;  and  he  was  so  old  in  the  service,  and  so  skillful, 
that  he  could  scarcely  hope  to  beat  him.  Yet  his  "  Queen  "  pines 
did  take  the  first  prize  at  a  competition  with  the  duke — though 
this  was  not  until  shortly  after  his  death,  when  the  plants  had 
become  more  fully  grown.  His  grapes  also  recently  took  the  first 
prize  at  Rotherliam,  at  a  competition  open  to  all  P^ngland.  He 
was  extremely  successful  in  producing  melons,  having  invented 
a  method  of  suspending  them  in  baskets  of  wire  gauze,  which, 
by  relieving  the  stalk  from  tension,  allowed  nutrition  to  proceed 
more  freely,  and  better  enabled  the  fruit  to  grow  and  ripen. 
Amongst  his  other  erections,  he  built  a  joiner's  shop,  where  he 
kept  a  workman  regularly  employed  in  carrying  out  his  many 
ingenious  contrivances  of  this  sort. 

He  took  much  pride  also  in  his  growth  of  cucumbers.  He 
raised  them  very  fine  and  large,  but  he  could  not  make  them 
grow  straight.  Place  them  as  he  would,  notwithstanding  all  his 
propping  of  them,  and  humoring  them  by  modifying  the  applica- 
tion of  heat,  and  the  admission  of  light  for  the  purpose  of  effect- 
ing his  object,  they  would  still  insist  on  growing  crooked  in  their 
own  way.  At  last  he  had  a  number  of  glass  cylinders  made  at 
Newcastle,  for  the  purpose  of  an  experiment ;  into  these  the 
growing  cucumbers  were  inserted,  and  then  he  succeeded  in  grow- 
ing them  perfectly  straight.  Carrying  one  of  the  new  products 
into  his  house  one  day,  and  exhibiting  it  to  a  party  of  visitors, 
he  told  them  of  the  expedient  he  had  adopted,  and  added  glee- 
fully, "  I  think  I  have  bothered  them  noo ! " 

Mr.  Stephenson  also  carried  on  farming  operations  with  some 
success.  He  experimented  on  manure,  and  fed  cattle  after  meth- 
ods of  his  own.  He  was  very  particular  as  to  breed  and  build 
in  stock-breeding.  "  You  see,  sir,"  he  said  to  one  gentleman,  "  I 
like  to  see  the  coo's  back  at  a  gradient  something  like  this," 
(drawing  an  imaginary  line  with  his  hand,)  "  and  then  the  ribs 


442  LIFE  or  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

or  girders  will  carry  more  flesh  than  if  they  were  so,  or  so." 
"When  he  attended  the  county  agricultural  meetings,  which  he 
frequently  did,  he  was  accustomed  to  take  part  in  the  discussions, 
and  he  brought  the  same  vigorous  practical  mind  to  bear  upon 
questions  of  tillage,  drainage,  and  fai'm  economy,  which  he  had 
been  accustomed  to  exercise  on  mechanical  and  engineering  mat- 
ters. At  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  North  Derbyshire  Agricul- 
tural Society,  he  favored  the  assembled  farmers  with  an  explana- 
tion of  his  theory  of  vegetation.  The  practical  conclusion  to 
which  it  led  was,  that  the  agriculturist  ought  to  give  as  much  light 
and  heat  to  the  soil  as  possible.  At  the  same  time,  he  stated  his 
opinion  that,  in  some  cold  soils,  water  contributed  to  promote  veg- 
etation, rather  than  to  impede  it,  as  was  generally  believed ;  for 
the  water,  being  exposed  to  the  sun  and  atmosphere,  became  spe- 
cifically warmer  than  the  earth  it  covered,  and  when  it  afterwards 
irrigated  the  fields,  it  communicated  this  additional  heat  to  the 
soil  which  it  permeated. 

All  his  early  affection  for  birds  and  animals  revived.  He  had 
favorite  dogs,  and  cows,  and  horses ;  and  again  he  began  to  keep 
rabbits,  and  to  pride  himself  on  the  beauty  of  his  breed.  There 
was  not  a  bird's  nest  upon  the  grounds  that  he  did  not  know  of; 
and  from  day  to  day  he  went  round  watching  the  progress  which 
the  birds  made  with  their  building,  carefully  guarding  them  from 
injury.  No  one  was  more  minutely  acquainted  with  the  habits 
of  British  birds,  the  result  of  a  long,  loving,  and  close  observa- 
tion of  nature. 

At  Tapton  he  remembered  the  failure  of  his  early  experiment 
in  hatching  birds'  eggs  by  heat,  and  he  now  performed  it  success- 
fully, being  able  to  secure  a  proper  apparatus  for  maintaining  a 
uniform  temperature.  He  was  also  curious  about  the  breeding 
and  fattening  of  fowls ;  and  when  his  friend  Edward  Pease  of 
Darlington  visited  him  at  Tapton,  he  explained  a  method  which 
he  had  invented  for  fattening  chickens  in  half  the  usual  time. 
The  chickens  were  shut  up  in  boxes,  which  were  so  made  as  to 


RAISING    BEES.  443 

exclude  the  light.  Dividing  the  day  into  two  or  three  parts,  the 
birds  were  shut  up  at  each  period  after  a  heavy  feed,  and  went 
to  sleep.  The  plan  proved  very  successftil,  and  Mr.  Stephenson 
jocularly  said  that  if  he  Avere  to  devote  himself  to  chickens  he 
could  soon  make  a  little  fortune. 

Mrs.  Stephenson  tried  to  keep  bees,  but  found  they  would  not 
thrive  at  Tapton.  Many  hives  perished,  and  there  was  no  case 
of  success.  The  cause  of  failure  was  a  puzzle  to  Mr.  Stephen- 
son ;  but  one  day  his  acute  powers  of  observation  enabled  him 
to  unravel  it.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which  Tapton  House 
stands,  he  saw  some  bees  trying  to  rise  up  from  amongst  the  grass, 
laden  with  honey  and  wax.  They  were  already  exhausted,  as  if 
with  long  flying ;  and  then  it  occurred  to  him  that  the  height  at 
which  the  house  stood  above  the  bees'  feeding  ground  rendered 
it  difficult  for  them  to  reach  their  hives  when  heavy  laden,  and 
hence  they  sank  exhausted.  Mr.  Stephenson  afterwards  stated 
the  case  to  Mr.  Jesse  the  naturalist,  who  concurred  in  his  view  as 
to  the  cause  of  failure,  and  was  much  struck  by  the  keen  obser- 
vation Avhich  had  led  to  its  solution. 

Mr.  Stephenson  had  none  of  the  in-door  habits  of  the  student. 
He  read  very  little ;  for  reading  is  a  habit  which  is  generally 
acquired  in  youth ;  and  his  youth  and  manhood  had  been  for  tha 
most  part  spent  in  hard  work.  Books  wearied  him,  and  sent  him 
to  sleep.  Novels  excited  his  feelings  too  much,  and  he  avoided 
them,  though  he  would  occasionally  read  through  a  philosophical 
book  on  a  subject  in  which  he  felt  particularly  interested.  He 
wrote  very  few  letters  with  his  own  hand ;  nearly  all  his  letters 
were  dictated,  and  he  avoided  even  dictation  when  he  could.  His 
greatest  pleasure  was  in  conversation,  from  which  he  gathered 
most  of  his  imparted  information  ;  hence  he  was  always  glad  in 
the  society  of  intelligent  conversable  persons. 

It  was  his  practice,  when  about  to  set  out  on  a  journey  by  rail- 
way, to  walk  along  the  train  before  it  started,  and  look  into  the 
carriages  to  see  if  he  could  find  "  a  conversable  face."    On  one  of 


444  LIFE  OF    GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

these  occasions,  at  the  Euston  Station,  he  discovered  in  a  carriage 
a  very  handsome,  manly,  and  intelligent  face,  which  he  shortly 
found  belonged  to  the  late  Lord  Denman.  He  was  on  his  way 
down  to  his  seat  at  Stony  Middleton,  in  Derbyshire.  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson entered  the  carriage,  and  the  two  were  shortly  engaged 
in  interesting  conversation.  It  turned  upon  chronometry  and 
horology,  and  Mr.  Stephenson  amazed  his  lordship  by  the  extent 
of  his  knowledge  on  the  subject,  in  which  he  displayed  as  much 
minute  information,  even  down  to  the  latest  improvements  in 
watchmaking,  as  if  he  had  been  bred  a  watchmaker  and  lived 
by  the  trade.  Lord  Denman  was  curious  to  know  how  a  man 
whose  time  must  have  been  mainly  engrossed  by  engineering, 
had  gathered  so  much  knowledge  on  a  subject  quite  out  of  his 
ovm.  line,  and  he  asked  the  question.  "  I  learnt  clockmaking  and 
watchmaking,"  was  the  answer,  ''  while  a  working  man  at  Kil- 
lingworth,  when  I  made  a  little  money  in  my  spare  hours  by 
cleaning  the  pitmen's  clocks  and  watches ;  and  since  then  I  have 
kept  up  my  information  on  the  subject."  This  led  to  further 
questions,  and  then  Mr.  Stephenson  told  Lord  Denman  the  inter- 
esting story  of  his  life,  which  held  him  entranced  during  the 
remainder  of  the  journey. 

Many  of  his  friends  readily  accepted  invitations  to  Tapton 
House  to  enjoy  his  hospitality,  which  never  failed.  With  them 
he  would  "  fight  his  battles  o'er  again,"  reverting  often  to  his 
battle  for  the  locomotive ;  and  he  was  never  tired  of  telling,  nor 
wez-e  his  auditors  of  listening  to,  the  lively  anecdotes  with  which 
he  was  accustomed  to  illustrate  the  struggles  of  his  early  career. 
Whilst  walking  in  the  woods  or  through  the  grounds,  he  would 
arrest  his  friends'  attention  by  allusion  to  some  simple  object — 
such  as  a  leaf,  a  blade  of  grass,  a  bit  of  bark,  a  nest  of  birds,  or 
an  ant  carrying  its  eggs  across  the  path — and  descant  in  glowing 
terms  upon  the  creative  power  of  the  Divine  ]\Iechanician, 
whose  contrivances  were  so  exhaustless  and  so  wonderful.  This 
was  a  theme  upon   which  he  was  often  accustomed  to  dwell  in 


THE   MICROSCOPE.  445 

reverential  admiration,  when  in  the  society  of  his  more  intimate 
fnends. 

One  night,  when  walking  under  the  stars,  and  gazing  up  into 
the  field  of  suns,  each  the  pi'obable  centre  of  a  system,  forming 
the  Milky  Way,  a  friend  said  to  him :  "  What  an  insignificant 
creature  is  man  in  sight  of  so  immense  a  creation  as  that !" 
"Yes!"  was  his  reply,  "but  how  wonderful  a  creature  also  is 
man,  to  be  able  to  think  and  reason,  and  even  in  some  measure 
to  comprehend  works  so  infinite  ! " 

A  microscope,  which  he  had  brought  down  to  Tapton,  was  a 
source  of  immense  enjoyment  to  him ;  and  he  was  never  tired  of 
contemplating  the  minute  wonders  which  it  revealed.  One  eve- 
ning, when  some  friends  were  visiting  him,  he  induced  each  of 
them  to  puncture  his  skin  so  as  to  draw  blood,  in  order  that  he 
might  examine  the  globules  through  the  microscope.  One  of  the 
gentlemen  present  was  a  teetotaler,  and  Mr.  Stephenson  pro- 
nounced his  blood  to  be  the  most  lively  of  the  whole.  He  had  a 
theory  of  his  own  about  the  movement  of  the  globules  in  the 
blood,  which  has  since  become  familiar.  It  was,  that  they  were 
respectively  charged  with  electricity,  positive  at  one  end  and 
negative  at  the  other,  and  that  thus  they  attracted  and  repelled 
each  other,  causing  a  circulation.  No  sooner  did  he  observe  any 
thing  new,  than  he  immediately  set  about  devising  a  reason  for  it. 
His  training  in  mechanics,  his  practical  familiarity  with  matter  in 
all  its  forms,  and  the  strong  bent  of  his  mind,  led  him  first  of  all 
to  seek  for  a  mechanical  explanation.  And  yet  he  was  ready  to 
admit  that  there  was  a  something  in  the  principle  of  life — so 
mysterious  and  inexplicable  —  which  bafiled  mechanics,  and 
seemed  to  dominate  over  and  control  them.  He  did  not  care 
much,  either,  for  abstruse  mechanics,  but  only  for  the  experi- 
mental and  practical,  as  is  usually  the  case  with  those  whose 
knowledge  has  been  self-acquired. 

Even  at  this  advanced  age,  his  spirit  of  frolic  had  not  left  him. 
When  proceeding  from  Chesterfield  Station   to  Tapton  House 


446  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHEXSON. 

with  his  friends,  he  would  almost  invariably  challenge  them  to  a 
race  up  the  steep  path,  partly  formed  of  stone  steps,  along  the 
hill-side.  And  he  would  struggle,  as  of  old,  to  keep  the  front 
place,  though  by  this  time  his  "  wind"  had  greatly  failed.  He 
would  even  invite  an  old  friend  to  take  a  quiet  wrestle  with  him 
on  the  lawn,  in  memory  of  former  times.  In  the  evening,  he 
would  sometimes  indulge  his  visitors  by  reciting  the  old  pastoral 
of  "  Damon  and  Phyllis,"  or  singing  his  favorite  song  of  "  John 
Anderson  my  Joe."  But  his  greatest  glory  amongst  those  with 
whom  he  was  most  intimate,  was  "  a  crowdie ! "  "  Let's  have  a 
crowdie  night,"  he  would  say  ;  and  forthwith  a  kettle  of  boiling 
water  was  ordered  in,  with  a  basin  of  oatmeal.  Taking  a  large 
bowl,  containing  a  sufficiency  of  hot  water,  and  placing  it  between 
his  knees,  he  then  poured  in  oatmeal  with  one  hand,  and  stirred 
the  mixture  vigorously  with  the  other.  When  enough  meal  had 
been  added,  and  the  stirring  was  completed,  the  crowdie  was 
made.  It  was  then  supped  with  new  milk,  and  Mr.  Stephenson 
generally  pronounced  it  "  capital ! "  It  was  the  diet  to  which  he 
had  been  accustomed  when  a  w^orking  man,  and  all  the  dainties 
with  which  he  had  been  familiar  in  recent  years  had  not  spoiled 
his  simple  tastes.  To  enjoy  crowdie  at  his  years,  besides,  indica- 
ted that  he  still  possessed  that  quality  on  which  no  doubt  much 
of  his  practical  success  in  life  had  depended  —  a  strong  and 
healthy  digestion. 

He  would  also  frequently  invite  to  his  house  the  humbler  com- 
panions of  his  early  life,  and  take  pleasure  in  talking  over  old 
times  wdth  them.  He  never  assumed  any  of  the  bearings  of  a 
great  man  on  these  occasions,  but  treated  such  visitors  with  the 
same  friendliness  and  respect  as  if  they  had  been  his  equals, 
sending  them  away  pleased  with  themselves  and  dehghted  with 
him.  At  other  times,  needy  men  who  had  known  him  in  youth, 
would  knock  at  his  door,  and  they  were  never  refused  access. 
But  if  he  had  heard  of  any  misconduct  on  their  part,  he  would 
rate  them  soundly.     One  who  knew  him  intimately  in  private 


HIS    DISLIKE    OF    FOPPERY.  447 

life  has  seen  him  exhorting  such  backslider?,  and  denouncing 
their  misconduct  and  imprudence,  with  the  tears  streaming  down 
his  cheeks.  And  he  would  generally  conclude  by  opening  his 
purse,  and  giving  them  the  help  which  they  needed  '"  to  make  a 
fresh  start  in  the  world." 

Young  men  would  call  upon  him  for  advice  or  assistance  in 
commencing  a  ^professional  career.  When  lie  noted  their  indus- 
try, prudence,  and  good  sense,  he  was  always  ready.  But,  hating 
foppery  and  frippery  above  all  things,  he  would  reprove  any 
tendency  to  this  weakness  which  he  observed  in  the  applicants. 
One  day,  a  youth,  desirous  of  becoming  an  engineer,  called  upon 
him,  flourishing  a  gold-headed  cane.  Mi*.  Stephenson  said:  "Put 
by  that  stick,  my  man,,  and  then  I  will  speak  to  you."  To  another 
extensively-decorated  young  man,  he  one  day  said :  "  You  will,  I 

hope,  Mr. ,  excuse  me ;  I  am  a  plain-spoken  person,  and  am 

sorry  to  sec  a  nice-looking  and  rather  clever  young  man  like  you 
disfigured  with  that  fine-patterned  waistcoat,  and  all  these  chains 
and  fang-dangs.  If  I,  sir,  had  bothered  my  head  with  such 
things  when  at  your  age,  I  would  not  have  been  where  I  am 
now." 

Mr.  Stephenson's  life  at  Tapton  during  his  later  years  was 
occasionally  diversified  with  a  visit  to  London.  His  engineering 
business  having  become  limited,  he  generally  went  there  for  the 
purpose  of  visiting  friends,  or  "  to  see  v.'hat  there  was  new  going 
on."  He  found  a  new  race  of  engineers  springing  up  on  all 
hands — men  who  knew  him  not ;  and  his  London  journeys  gradu 
ally  ceased  to  yield  him  real  pleasure.  A  friend  used  to  taka 
liim  to  the  opera,  but  by  the  end  of  the  first  act,  he  was  generally 
observed  in  a  profound  slumber.  Yet  on  one  occasion  he  enjoyed 
a  visit  to  the  Haymarket,  with  a  party  of  friends,  on  his  birth-day, 
to  see  T.  P.  Cooke,  in  "  Black-eyed  Susan;"  —  if  that  can  be 
called  enjoyment  which  kept  him  in  a  state  of  tears  during  half 
the  performance.  At  other  times  he  visited  Newcastle,  which 
always  gave  him  great  pleasure.     He  would,  on  such  occasions, 


448  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPKENSON. 

go  out  to  Killingworth  and  seek  up  old  friends,  and  if  the  people 
whom  he  knew  were  too  retiring  and  shrunk  into  their  cottages, 
he  went  and  sought  them  there.  Striking  the  floor  with  his  stick, 
and  holding  his  noble  person  upright,  he  would  say  in  his  own 
kind  way,  "  Well,  and  how's  all  here  to-day?"  To  the  last  Mr. 
Stephenson  had  always  a  warm  heart  for  Newcastle  and  its 
neighborhood. 

Sir  Robert  Peel,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  invited  Mr.  Ste- 
phenson to  his  mansion  at  Drayton,  where  he  was  accustomed  to 
assemble  round  him  men  of  the  greatest  distinction  in  art,  science, 
and  legislation,  during  the  intervals  of  his  parliamentary  life. 
The  first  invitation,  Mr.  Stephenson  declined.  Sir  Robert  invited 
him  a  second  time,  and  a  second  time  he  declined :  "  I  have  no 
great  ambition,"  he  said,  "  to  mix  in  fine  company,  and  perhaps 
should  feel  out  of  my  proper  place  among  such  high  folks."  But 
Sir  Robert  a  third  time  pressed  him  to  come  down  to  Tamworth 
early  in  January,  1845,  when  he  would  meet  Buckland,  FoUett, 
and  others  well  known  to  both.  "  Well,  Sir  Robert,"  said  he, 
"  I  feel  your  kindness  very  much,  and  can  no  longer  refuse :  I 
will  come  down  and  join  your  party." 

Mr.  Stephenson's  strong  powers  of  observation,  together  with 
his  native  humor  and  shrewdness,  impaired  to  his  conversation 
at  all  times  much  vigor  and  originality,  and  made  him,  to  young 
and  old,  a  delightful  companion.  Though  mainly  an  engineer, 
he  was  also  a  profound  thinker  on  many  scientific  questions ;  and 
there  was  scarcely  a  subject  of  speculation,  or  a  department  of 
recondite  science,  on  which  he  had  not  employed  his  faculties  in 
such  a  way  as  to  have  formed  large  and  original  views.  At 
Drayton,  the  conversation  often  turned  upon  such  topics,  and  ]Mr. 
Stephenson  freely  joined  in  it.  On  one  occasion  an  animated 
discussion  took  place  between  himself  and  Dr.  Buckland  on  one 
of  his  favorite  theories  as  to  the  formation  of  coal.  But  the 
result  was,  that  Dr.  Buckland,  a  much  greater  master  of  tongue- 
fence  than  Stephenson,  completely  silenced  him.     Next  moraing 


HIS    CONVERSATION.  449 

before  breakfast,  when  he  was  walking  in  the  grounds  deeply 
pondering,  Sir  William  Follett  came  up  and  asked  what  he  was 
thinking  about  ?  "  Why,  Sir  William,  I  am  thinking  over  that 
argument  I  had  with  Buckland  last  night.  I  know  I  am  right, 
and  that  if  I  had  only  the  command  of  words  which  he  has,  I'd 
have  beaten  him."  "  Let  me  know  all  about  it,"  said  Sir  William 
"  and  I'll  see  what  I  can  do  for  you."  The  two  sat  down  in  an 
arbor,  where  the  astute  lawyer  made  himself  thoroughly  acquaint- 
ed with  the  points  of  the  case ;  entering  into  it  with  all  the  zeal 
of  an  advocate  about  to  plead  the  dearest  interests  of  his  client. 
After  he  had  mastered  the  subject,  Sir  William  rose  up,  rubbing 
his  hands  with  glee,  and  said,  "  Now  I  am  ready  for  him."  Sir 
Robert  Peel  w^as  made  acquainted  with  the  plot,  and  adroitly 
introduced  the  subject  of  the  controversy  after  dinner.  The 
result  was,  that  in  the  argument  w'hich  followed,  the  man  of 
science  was  overcome  by  the  man  of  law ;  and  Sir  Wilham  Fol- 
lett had  at  all  points  the  mastery  over  Dr.  Buckland.  "  What 
do  you  say,  Mr.  Stephenson?"  asked  Sir  Robert,  laughing. 
"  Why,"  said  he,  "  I  will  only  say  this,  that  of  all  the  powers 
above  and  under  the  earth,  there  seems  to  me  to  be  no  power  so 
great  as  the  gift  of  the  gab." 

One  day,  at  dinner,  during  the  same  visit,  a  scientific  lady 
asked  him  the  question :  "  Mr.  Stephenson,  what  do  you  consider 
the  most  powerful  force  in  nature  ?"  "  Oh  !"  said  he,  in  a  gallant 
spirit,  "  I  Avill  soon  answer  that  question :  it  is  the  eye  of  a 
woman  for  the  man  who  loves  her ;  for  if  a  woman  look  with 
affection  on  a  young  man,  and  he  should  go  to  the  uttermost  ends 
of  the  earth,  the  recollection  of  that  look  will  bring  him  back : 
there  is  no  other  force  in  nature  which  could  do  that." 

One  Sunday,  when  the  party  had  just  returned  from  church, 

they  were  standing  together  on  the  terrace  near  the  Hall,  and 

observed  in  the  distance  a  railway  train  flashing  along,  throwing 

behind  it  a  long  line  of  white  steam.     "  Now,  Buckland,"  said 

Mr.  Stephenson,  "  I  have  a  poser  for  you.    Can  you  tell  me  what 
29 


450  LIFE   OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

is  the  power  that  is  driving  that  train  ?"  "  "Well,"  said  the  other, 
"  I  suppose  it  is  one  of  your  big  engines."  "  But  what  drives  the 
engine?"  "  Oh,  very  hkely  a  canny  Newcastle  driver."  "  AYhat 
do  you  say  to  the  light  of  the  sun  ?"  "  How  can  that  be  ?"  asked 
the  doctor.  "  It  is  nothing  else,"  said  the  engineer :  "  it  is  light 
bottled  up  in  the  earth  for  tens  of  thousands  of  years  —  light, 
absorbed  by  plants  and  vegetables,  being  necessary  for  the  con- 
densation of  carbon  during  the  process  of  their  growth,  if  it  be 
not  carbon  in  another  form  —  and  now,  after  being  buried  in  the 
earth  for  long  ages  in  fields  of  coal,  that  latent  light  is  again 
brought  forth  and  liberated,  made  to  work,  as  in  that  locomotive, 
for  great  human  purposes."  The  idea  was  certainly  a  most 
striking  and  original  one  :  like  a  flash  of  light,  it  illuminated  in 
an  instant  an  entire  field  of  science. 

During  the  same  visit,  Mr.  Stephenson  one  evening  repeated 
his  experiment  with  blood  drawn  from  the  finger,  submitting  it 
to  the  microscope  in  order  to  show  the  curious  circulation  of  the 
globules.  He  set  the  example  by  pricking  his  own  thumb  ;  and 
the  other  guests,  by  turns,  in  like  manner  gave  up  a  small  por- 
tion of  their  blood  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  compara- 
tive liveliness  of  their  circulation.  When  Sir  Robert  Peel's 
turn  came,  Mr.  St'^phenson  said  he  was  curious  to  know  "how 
the  blood  globules  of  a  great  politician  would  conduct  them- 
selves." Sir  Robert  held  forth  his  finger  for  the  purpose  of 
being  pricked ;  but  once,  and  again,  he  sensitively  shrunk  back, 
and  at  length  the  experiment,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  was 
abandoned.  Sir  Robert  Peel's  sensitiveness  to  pain  was  ex- 
treme, and  yet  he  was  destined,  a  few  years  after,  to  die  a  death 
of  the  most  distressing  agony. 

From  these  visits  to  distinguished  persons,  Mr.  Stephenson 
went  back  to  Tapton  with  an  increased  love  for  home  and  its 
pleasures.  He  must  see  after  his  garden,  his  birds,  and  his 
favorite  animals.  There  were  also  his  thousand  workpeople  to 
be  looked  after,  at  Tapton  and  Clay  Cross ;  and  Mechanics'  In- 


EDUCATIONAL   INSTITUTE   AT   CLAY   CROSS.  451 

stitutes  to  be  visited,  and  many  other  things  to  be  attended  to. 
One  of  the  subjects  that  gave  him  most  pleasure  during  tlie  later 
years  of  his  life  was,  the  encouragement  of  educational  institutes 
for  the  working  classes,  in  which  he  took  the  deepest  interest. 
He  had  many  discussions  on  the  subject  with  his  intimate  friend 
Mr.  Binns,  the  manager  of  the  extensive  works  at  Glay  Cross. 
A  large  population  had  now  settled  down  at  that  place,  and  the 
original  hamlet,  consisting  of  about  twelve  cottages,  had  assumed 
the  dimensions  of  a  town.  Iron  smelting  furnaces  had  been 
added  to  tlie  colliery,  and  decided  prosperity  at  length  promised 
to  attend  Mr.  Stephenson's  original  enterprise.  How  were  these 
workpeople  to  be  morally  and  intellectually  improved,  and  their 
children  efficiently  educated  ?  Such  was  the  question  which  oc- 
cupied the  attention  of  Mr.  Stephenson  and  his  friend.  Small 
beginnings  were  made,  educational  institutes  of  all  kinds  growing 
but  slowly ;  but  at  length  a  system  was  established,  so  admirable 
and  calculated  to  be  so  beneficial  to  all  parties  concerned,  em- 
ployers and  workpeople  alike,  that  we  think  the  institution  at 
Clay  Cross  may  be  cited  as  a  model  for  general  imitation  by 
large  employers  of  labor  in  all  districts.     It  is  briefly  as  follows : 

It  is  made  a  condition  of  employment  at  the  works  that  every 
man  and  boy  shall  pay  a  fortniglitly  rate  for  educational  and 
other  purposes.  Every  married  man  pays  a  shilling  a  fortnight, 
every  single  man  eight  pence,  every  boy  five  pence.  Of  these 
respective  contributions,  two  pence  a  fortnight  from  each  is  ap- 
propriated exclusively  for  education.  It  is  further  made  a  con- 
dition, that  the  funds  shall  be  administered  by  the  manager  of  the 
works ;  the  concentration  of  the  power  in  his  hands  insuring 
efficiency  to  the  system. 

In  return  for  these  contributions,  the  following  important  ben- 
efits are  conferred:  1.  Free  education  in  day  schools  for  all  the 
children  of  the  workpeople.  2.  Free  education  in  night  schools 
for  all  the  boys  and  young  men  desiring  instruction.  3.  Free 
access  to  a  "Workmen's  Institute,  with  its  lectures,  reading  room 


452  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON.., 

supplied  with  daily  and  weekly  newspapers,  and  library  of  1600 
volumes.  4.  Free  medical  and  surgical  attendance  to  all  the 
workpeople  and  their  families.  5.  Relief  at  the  rate  of  4s.  a 
week  during  sickness,  and  ^s.  a  week  during  disablement  by  ac- 
cident, to  all  the  workpeople,  6.  Free  access  to  a  fortnightly 
dance  in  the  large  hall,  attended  by  the  workpeople  and  their 
families.  7.  A  band  of  instrumental  music,  a  drum  and  fife 
band,  a  choral  society,  and  a  cricket  club,  are  maintained  out  of 
the  rate.  8.  Between  thirty  and  forty  pounds  are  yearly  grant- 
ed out  of  the  rate  as  prizes  for  the  best  cottage  garden  vegetables ; 
the  competion  for  which  is  held  three  times  a  year  in  the  Public 
Hall. 

Such  is  the  admirable  institution  now  existing  at  Clay  Cross. 
The  number  of  persons  employed  on  the  works  is  about  fifteen 
hundred ;  and  the  amount  of  good  daily  effected  by  agencies  of 
the  character  thus  briefly  stated  can  be  better  imagined  than  de- 
scribed. Schools,  with  a  fine  public  hall,  and  a  handsome  church, 
have  been  erected  at  a  cost  of  many  thousand  pounds,  towards 
the  expenses  of  which  the  Clay  Cross  Company  have  munificently 
contributed ;  but  the  main  element  of  success  in  the  Institution 
unquestionably  consists  in  the  truly  philanthropic  action  of  the 
manager,  Mr.  Binns,  who  was  for  so  many  years  the  private 
secretary  of  George  Stephenson,  and  in  whom  his  spirit  strongly 
lives  and  nobly  works. 

"The  good  men  do,  lives  after  them,"  happily  holds  true  quite 
as  often  as  the  converse  maxim  embodied  in  Shakspeare's  well- 
known  couplet.*  The  example  and  influence  exercised  by  a 
good  man  upon  his  fellows,  as  by  George  Stephenson  at  Clay 
Cross  during  his  life,  is  never  lost ;  but  goes  on  fructifying  into 
good,  long  after  his  body  has  mouldered  into  dust. 

*  "  The  evil  that  men  do,  Uvea  after  them ; 

The  good  is  often  interred  with  their  bones." 

JULIDS   CiESAE. 


• 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

CLOSING  YEARS. 

While  thus  occupied  in  his  country  house  at  Tapton,  many 
persons  continued  to  seek  Mr.  Stephenson's  advice  on  subjects 
connected  Avith  mechanical  engineering.  Inventors  sent  their 
plans  to  him,  and  his  approval  was  regarded  as  a  passport  to 
success.  He  was  always  ready  to  consider  the  plans  thus  sub- 
mitted. Sometimes  it  was  a  paddle-boat  for  canals,  or  a  new 
break  for  railway  trains,  or  a  steam-gauge,  or  a  patent  axle.  If 
his  reply  proved  favorable,  the  inventor  occasionally  seized  the 
opportunity  of  circulating  or  advertising  it,  often  without  asking 
his  permission. 

One  gentleman  requested  his  opinion  respecting  his  "anti-fric- 
tion wheeled  carriages,"  to  which  a  very  civil  letter  was  sent 
ia  reply  containing  some  useful  hints,  and  offering  to  subscribe 
towards  having  a  carriage  properly  constructed  after  a  carefully 
prepared  model,  but  cautioning  the  inventor  against  being  over- 
sanguine.  "If  I  can  be  the  means  of  helping  you,"  said  he,  "I 
shall  be  glad  to  do  so ;  but  I  should  not  be  justified  in  leading 
you  or  any  other  person  to  spend  money  without  any  chance  of 
getting  it  back  again."  This  letter  was  immediately  published 
in  the  railway  papers,  by  the  happy  inventor,  with  a  quantity  of 
doggerel  appended ;  but  if  the  proposed  wheel  ran  no  smoother 
than  the  rhymes,  it  could  not  have  been  worth  much.* 

*  Take  the  following  specimen ; 

"I  saw  your  son  Robert,  oh  fie!  oh  fie  I 
lie  looked  Upon  me  with  disdain ; 
(453) 


454  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

Another  inventor  induced  a  mutual  friend  to  write  requesting 
his  opinion  respecting  an  improved  steamboat  for  the  -working  of 
canals.  He  wrote  in  reply,  commending  the  plan  of  the  boat, 
but  at  the  same  time  expressing  his  belief  that  "  no  boat  can  be 
made  now  to  work  against  the  locomotive."  When  Beale's  Rota- 
tory Engine  came  out,  although  entertaining  a  strong  opinion 
against  it,  he  nevertheless  subscribed  a  sum  of  money  for  the 
purpose  of  having  it  fairly  tried.  A  boat  was  fitted  up  with  the 
engine,  and  the  trial  came  off  at  Yarmouth.  After  describino- 
the  experiment  at  a  meeting  of  the  Mechanical  Engineers,  he 
said :  "  When  the  engine  was  put  to  work,  we  could  not  get  the 
boat  to  move  forward,  and  the  experiment  failed.  We  mana"-ed, 
indeed,  to  get  the  boat  to  sea,  but  it  cost  me  and  the  party  40Z. 
to  bring  her  back  again." 

While  Mr.  Stephenson  was  in  the  full  tide  of  railway  business 
in  London,  these  frequent  applications  of  inventors  to  submit 
their  plans  for  his  consideration  had  not  always  been  so  favorably 
received.  They  broke  in  upon  him  at  a  time  when  every  moment 
was  precious,  preengaged  by  railway  companies  with  large  inter- 
ests at  stake.  Absorbed  by  work,  and  his  mind  full  of  the  busi- 
ness in  hand,  it  was  scarcely  to  be  expected  that  he  should  listen 
with  patience  to  plans  fifty  times  before  proposed  and  rejected — 
to  crude  and  wild  theories  believed  in  only  by  their  projectors. 
But  when  he  had  secured  leisure,  and  could  call  his  time  liis  own, 
he  was  always  ready  to  give  an  ear  to  those  who  consulted  him 
upon  such  subjects.  Thus,  when  Mr.  Smith  of  Nottingham,  an 
ingenious  person  in  humble  life,  waited  upon  him  with  his  inven- 
tion of  a  steam-gauge,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  his  patronage 

Ilis  father  could  see,  with  half  an  eye, 
Far  more  than  I  could  explain. 

"He  wouldn't  allow  me  to  leare  him  my  models, 
Or  a  drawing,  nor  yet  read  my  rhyme; 
For  many  came  to  hhn  with  crack'd  nod'lUs, 
Which  occupied  half  of  his  tiine." 


CORRESPO^'DEXCE    WITH   INVENTORS.  455 

and  assistance,  Mr.  Stephenson  at  once  saw  its  uses,  and  said : 
"  Oh  !  I  understand  it  aUogether ;  it  will  do  very  well."  Over- 
joyed with  this  approval,  and  with  the  practical  suggestions  with 
which  it  was  accompanied,  the  inventor  said :  "  Before  I  leave, 
will  you  be  pleased  to  tell  me  what  is  your  charge  ?  "  "  Charge ! " 
replied  Mr.  Stephenson,  "oh,  nonsense,  I  make  no  charge;  but 
I'll  tell  you  what  you  must  do.*  Send  your  instrument  down  to 
my  works,  and  I'll  attach  it  to  one  of  my  boilers  and  prove  it. 
I  will  do  more ;  I  will  put  it  in  the  papers  for  you,  and  invite  the 
public  to  come  and  examine  it  at  work,  and  afterwards  purchase 
it  myself,  if  it  answers  as  I  expect  it  will  do."  He  was  as  good 
as  his  woi'd ;  for  he  shortly  after  published  the  following  letter  in 
the  daily  papers,  dated  Tapton  House,  Chesterfield,  Oct.  15th, 
1817:  "A  most  important  invention  has  been  submitted  to  me 
for  my  approval,  patented  by  a  Mr.  Smith  of  Nottingham,  and 
intended  to  indicate  the  strength  of  steam  in  steam-engine  boilers. 
It  is  particularly  adapted  for  steamboats,  and  can  be  placed  in 
the  cabin,  on  deck,  or  on  any  other  part  of  the  vessel,  where  it 
may  be  seen  by  every  passenger  on  boai'd.  It  may  also  be  fixed 
in  the  office  of  every  manufactory  where  a  steam-engine  is  used, 
at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  boiler.  I  am  so  much  pleased 
with  it  that  I  have  put  one  up  at  one  of  my  own  collieries ;  it  is 
some  distance  from  the  boiler,  in  another  house,  and  works  most 
beautifully,  showing  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  steam  in  the  most 
delicate  manner.  The  indicator  is  like  the  face  of  a  clock,  with 
a  pointer,  making  one  revolution  in  measuring  from  1  lb.  to  100 
lbs.  upon  the  square  inch  of  the  pressure  of  steam ;  it  is  quite 
f»'om  under  the  control  of  the  engineer,  or  any  other  person,  so 
that  its  indications  may  be  relied  upon  ;  and  the  construction  is 
so  simple,  that  it  is  scarcely  possible  for  it  to  get  out  of  order. 
I  might  give  a  full   explanation  of  the  machine,  but  I  think  it 

*  The  last  two  lines  state  a  fact  beyond  dispute.  The  number  of  inventions  in  connec- 
tion with  railways  thrust  upon  the  Messrs.  Stephenson  for  their  opinion  during  the  rail- 
way mania,  was  almost  beyond  computation. 


456  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

best  to  leave  that  to  the  inventor  himself.  The  numerous  and 
appalling  accidents  which  have  occurred  from  the  bursting  of 
steamboat  boilers  have  induced  me  to  give  you  these  observations, 
which  I  think  desirable  to  be  laid  before  the  public.  I  maj  state 
that  I  have  no  pecuniary  interest  in  the  scheme  ;  but  being  the 
first  pei"son  to  whom  it  has  been  shown,  and  the  first  to  make  use 
of  it.  I  feel  it  a  duty  I  owe  to  the  inventor,  as  well  as  the  public, 
to  make  it  as  universally  known  as  possible.  The  indicator  is  put 
up  at  Tapton  colliery,  near  Chestei'field,  and  may  be  seen  any 
day,  by  any  respectable  person." 

Mr.  Stephenson  also  occupied  some  of  his  spare  time,  while  at 
Tapton,  in  devising  improvements  in  locomotive  engines  and  rail- 
way carriages,  still  aiming  at  perfecting  the  great  system  which 
he  had  originated.  Thus,  in  1846,  he  brought  out  his  design  of 
a  three-cylinder  locomotive — the  two  outside  cylinders  acting 
together  in  the  same  plane,  the  third  cylinder,  with  a  crank  in  the 
middle  of  the  axle,  acting  at  right  angles  to  the  plane  and  crank 
pins  of  the  two  other  cylinders.  The  middle  cylinder  was  double 
the  diameter  of  the  others  ;  and  its  compensating  action  neutral- 
ized the  tendency  to  oscillate,  which  was  a  defect  in  the  long-boiler 
outside-cylinder  engines  as  originally  constructed.  Although  this 
new  engine  was  very  ingenious,  and  acted  with  great  power,  it 
has  not  come  into  general  use,  in  consequence  of  the  somewhat 
greater  expense  of  its  construction  and  working.  Tlie  oscillation, 
also,  of  the  outside-cylinder  engines,  which  this  invention  was  de- 
signed to  correct,  has  since  been  obviated  by  an  improvement  in 
their  design  and  structure.  A  three-cylinder  engine  was,  how- 
ever, constructed  by  way  of  experiment  for  the  Xortheastena 
Railway,  on  which  line  it  still  continues  in  efficient  work. 

Shortly  after,  !Mr.  Stephenson  invented  a  new  self-acting  brake, 
after  a  plan  which  had  occupied  his  attention  for  many  years, 
and  which  had  been  partially  adopted  on  tlie  Liverpool  and  Man- 
chester Railway  during  the  time  that  he  was  its  acting  engineer. 
He  now  communicated  a  paper  on  the  subject,  accompanied  by  a 


OPEXIXG  OF  THE  TRENT  VALLEY  RAILWAY.     457 

beautiful  model,  to  the  Institute  of  Mechanical  Engineers  at  Bir- 
mingham, of  which  he  was  president.  The  great  recommendation 
of  the  plan  was  its  simplicity  and  cheapness.  "  Any  effectual 
plan,"  he  said,  "  for  increasing  the  safety  of  railway  traveling  is, 
in  my  mind,  of  such  vital  importance,  that  I  prefer  laying  my 
scheme  open  to  the  world  to  taking  out  a  patent  for  it ;  and  it 
will  be  a  source  of  great  pleasure  to  me  to  know  that  it  has  been 
the  means  of  saving  even  one  human  life  from  destruction,  or  that 
it  has  prevented  one  serious  concussion."* 

In  1847,  the  year  before  his  death,  Mr.  Stephenson  was  invited 
to  join  a  distinguished  party  at  Sir  Robert  Peel's  mansion  at 
Drayton  Manor,  and  to  assist  in  the  ceremony  of  formally  open- 
ing the  Trent  Valley  Railway,  which  had  been  originally  designed 
and  laid  out  by  him  many  years  before.  The  first  sod  of  the 
railway  was  cut  by  the  Prime  Minister  himself,  in  November, 
1845,  during  the  time  when  Mr.  Stephenson  was  abroad  on  the 
business  of  the  Spanish  railway.  The  formal  opening  took  place 
on  the  26th  of  June,  1847,  the  line  having  thus  been  constructed 
in  less  than  two  years. 

What  a  change  had  come  over  the  spirit  of  the  landed  gentry 
since  the  time  when  George  Stephenson  had  first  projected  a 
railway  through  that  district !  Then  they  were  up  in  arms  against 
him,  characterizing  him  as  a  devastator  and  spoiler  of  their  estates; 
now  he  was  hailed  as  one  of  the  greatest  benefactors  of  the  age. 
Sir  Robert  Peel,  the  chief  political  personage  in  England,  wel- 
comed him  as  a  guest  and  a  friend,  and  spoke  of  him  as  the  chief 
of  our  practical  philosophers.  A  dozen  members  of  Parliament, 
seven  baronets,  with  all  the  landed  magnates  of  the  district, 
assembled  to  celebrate  the  opening  of  the  railway.  The  clergy 
were  there  to  bless  the  enterprise,  and  to  bid  all  hail  to  railway 
progress,  as  "  enabling  them  to  carry  on  with  greater  facility  those 
operations  in  connection  with  religion  which  were  calculated  to 

*  See  the  "  Practical  Mechanic's  Journal,"  Vol.  1,  p.  53,  for  a  description  of  the  Self- 
acting  Brake. 


458  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPIIEXSON. 

be  SO  beneficial  to  tlie  country,"*  The  army,  speaking  tlirough 
the  mouth  of  General  A' Court,  acknowledged  the  vast  importance 
of  railways,  as  tending  to  improve  the  military  defenses  of  the 
country.  And  representatives  from  eight  corporations  were  there 
to  acknowledge  the  great  benefits  which  railways  had  conferred 
upon  the  merchants,  tradesmen,  and  working  classes  of  their  re- 
spective towns  and  cities.  Amongst  those  present  Avho  could  not 
fail  to  contrast  the  now  triumphant  success  of  railways  with  the 
dismal  forebodings  uttei'ed  twenty  years  before,  was  Mr.  William 
Yates  Peel,  one  of  the  earliest  supporters  of  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  Eailway. 

Sir  Kobert  Peel  made  a  capital  speech  on  the  occasion,  point- 
ing out  that,  at  a  remote  period  in  the  history  of  British  high 
roads,  2000  years  ago,  Julius  Agricola,  who  united  in  his  person 
both  engineer  and  contractor — being  the  Stephenson  and  Brassey 
of  his  day — had  formed  a  direct  line  of  communication  between 
London  and  Chester,  though  with  unfavorable  gradients.  As  to 
the  immense  advantages  of  railways,  there  could  be  no  manner 
of  doubt ;  they  were,  in  his  judgment,  "  destined  to  effect  a 
gi'eater  social  revolution  than  any  invention  since  the  art  of  print- 
ing was  discovered;"  tending,  as  they  did,  to  promote  the  moral 
and  social  welfare,  and  to  advance  the  political  security  of  the 
kingdom,  to  establish  new  bonds  of  connection  between  En";land 
and  Ireland,  and  to  develop  the  industrial  energies  and  resources 
of  both  countries.  Sir  Robert,  in  the  course  of  his  speech,  in- 
vited "  the  lions  of  the  broad  and  narrow  gauge  "  to  forget  the 
memory  of  all  former  grievances  for  that  day,  even  if,  unfortu- 
nately, they  were  doomed  to  be  revived  again  on  the  morrow. 

Mr.  Stephenson,  however,  was  so  strongly  convinced  of  the 
great  mistakes  which  had  been  committed  of  late  years — mistakes 
which  had,  in  no  small  measure,  been  encouraged  by  Sir  Robert 
Peel  himself,  greatly  to  the  damage  of  railway  property — that 
he  would  not  omit  the  opportunity,  as  he  said,  of  "  giving  him  a 

*  Speech  of  Archdeacon  Hodson  at  the  opening  of  the  Trent  Valley  Kailway. 


REPLY    TO    SIR   ROBERT   PEEL's    SPEECH.  459 

rub "  on  the  occasion,  and  speaking  out  his  mind  freelj  on  the 
subject  of  direct   lines,  steep   gradients,  and   the   atmospheric 
"  humbug,"  all  of  which  had  at  one  time  been  patronized  by  Sir 
Robert,  when  Premier.     In  the  course  of  his  reply,  he  said: 
"  When  I  look  back  to  the  time  when  I  first  projected  a  locomo- 
tive railway  in  this  neighborhood,  I  cannot  but  feel  astonished  at 
the  opinions  which  then  prevailed.     We  were  told,  even  by  cele- 
brated engineei'S,  that  it  would  be  impossible  ever  to  establish 
railways.     Judge,  then,  how  proud  must  now  be  the  feelings  of 
one  who,  foreseeing  the  results  of  railways,  has  risen  from  the 
lower  ranks  on  their  success !     I  may  venture  to  make  a  refer- 
ence to  what  the  right  honorable  baronet  said  relative  to  Julius 
Agricola  and  a  direct  line.     If  Julius  Agricola  laid  down  the 
most  direct  lines,  it  must  be  recollected  that  he  had  no  heavy 
goods  trains  to  provide  for,  and  gradients  were  of  no  consequence. 
The  line  that  general  took  was  probably  very  good  for  his  troops, 
where  the  hills  would  serve  to  establish  his  watches ;  but  such 
lines  would  be  in  no  way  applicable  at  the  present  day,  where 
the  road  is  covered  with  long  goods  trains  propelled  by  the  loco- 
motive.   What  we  require  now  is  a  road  with  such  gradients  that 
locomotives  shall  be  able  to  carry  the  heaviest  loads  at  the  least 
expense.     The  right  honorable  baronet  will  excuse  me  if  I  say 
that  to  have  a  line  that  is  direct  is  not  the  main  thing.     Had  he 
studied  the  laws  of  practical  mechanics  as  I  have  done,  he  would, 
doubtless,  have  regarded  good  gradients  as  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant considerations  in  a  railway.     I  will  also  venture  to  say  a 
word  as  to  the  broad  gauge.     I  am  afraid  that  this  is  another 
misconception,  almost  as  great  as  the  atmospheric  railway ;  only 
they  have  had  the  advantage  of  my  engines  to  drag  them  through. 
The   Great  Western  commenced  operations  by  endeavoring  to 
have  everything  diiferent  from  us — a  different  gauge  and  differ- 
ent engines.     They  put  the  boiler  on  one  carriage  and  the  engine 
on  another,  and  they  used  ten  feet  wheels,  which  were  to  go  at  a 
hundred  miles  an  hour.     But   what  became  of  those  engines  ? 


460  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

They  required  porters  to  help  them  out  of  the  station  ;  and  then 
they  would  not  work.  Luckily,  however,  we  had  sent  them  one 
engine  from  Newcastle,  called  the  '  North  Star,'  to  carry  on  the 
trafBc ;  and  though,  like  a  horse,  an  engine  requires  rest,  yet  it 
was  continually  being  called  out  to  bring  in  the  trains,  thereby 
doing  double  duty  in  conducting  the  traffic  for  which  the  original 
broad  gauge  engines  were  found  incapable." 

Nothing  had  occurred  to  weaken  his  confidence  in  the  locomo- 
tive ;  it  had  gone  on  increasing  in  power  and  efficiency,  perfected 
by  the  labors  of  a  succession  of  eminent  engineers,  chief  amongst 
whom  was  his  son ;  and  he  regarded  it  as  more  than  ever  the 
king  of  machines.  Doubtless,  he  had  a  strong  bias  in  favor  of 
his  own  engine — his  mind  having,  like  all  others,  become  almost 
exclusively  impressed  with  the  idea  which  it  had  exclusively  pur- 
sued. Nevertheless,  continued  experience  only  served  to  confirm 
the  soundness  of  his  opinion  as  to  the  superiority  of  the  locomo- 
tive. That  his  views  on  the  subject  of  gauge  and  gradients  were 
equally  sound,  is  now,  we  believe,  generally  admitted  by  railway 
managers  and  engineers. 

Shortly  after  the  triumphant  celebration  of  the  success  of  the 
railway  system  at  Tamworth,  Mr.  Stephenson  was  invited  to  be 
present  at  an  interesting  assemblage  of  railway  men  in  Manches- 
ter, at  which  a  testimonial  was  presented  to  Mr.  J.  P.  Westhead, 
the  former  chairman  of  the  Manchester  and  Birmingham  Rail- 
way. The  original  Liverpool  and  Manchester  line  had  swelled 
into  gigantic  proportions.  It  formed  the  original  nucleus  of  the 
vast  system  now  known  as  the  London  and  Northwestern  Rail- 
way. First  one  line,  and  then  another,  of  which  Mr.  Stephen- 
son had  been  engineer,  became  amalgamated  with  it,  until  the 
main  line  extended  from  London  to  Lancaster,  stretching  out  its 
great  arms  to  Leeds  in  one  direction  and  Holyhead  in  the  other, 
and  exercising  an  influence  over  other  northern  lines  as  far  as 
Glasgow,  Edinburgh  and  Aberdeen.  On  the  occasion  to  which 
we  refer,  IVIi-.  Stephenson,  the  father  of  railways,  was  not  forgot- 


HIS    MEETING    WITH    EMERSON.  461 

ten.  It  was  mainly  his  ingenuity,  energy  and  perseverance  that 
had  called  forth  the  commercial  enterprise  which  issued  in  this 
mao^nificent  system  of  internal  communication ;  and  the  railway 
men  who  assembled  to  do  honor  to  Mr.  Westhead,  did  not  fail  to 
recognize  the  great  practical  genius  through  whose  labors  it  had 
been  established.  He  was  "  the  rock  from  which  they  had  been 
hewn,"  observed  Mr.  Westhead — the  father  of  railway  enterprise 
— and  the  forerunner  of  all  that  had  been  done  to  extend  the 
locomotive  system  throughout  England  and  throughout  the  world. 

This  was  the  last  railway  meeting  that  Mr.  Stephenson  attend- 
ed, and  the  last  occasion  on  which  he  appeared  in  public,  with 
the  exception  of  a  soiree  of  the  Leeds  Mechanics'  Listitute,  in 
December,  1847.  The  words  which  he  then  addressed  to  the 
young  men  at  Leeds  were  highly  characteristic.  Though  crowned 
with  honors,  the  architect  of  the  railway  system,  and  the  con- 
structor of  some  of  the  greatest  works  of  his  time,  "  he  stood 
before  them,"  he  said,  "  but  as  an  humble  mechanic.  He  had 
risen  from  a  lower  standing  than  the  meanest  person  there ;  and 
all  that  he  had  been  enabled  to  accomplish  in  the  course  of  his 
life  had  been  done  through  perseverance.  He  said  this  for  the 
purpose  of  encouraging  youthful  mechanics  to  do  as  he  had  done 
— to  persevere."  The  words  were  simple,  but  forcible  and  preg- 
nant with  life  and  instruction  for  all  men. 

Lq  the  spring  of  1848,  Mr.  Stephenson  was  invited  to  Whit- 
tington  House,  near  Chesterfield,  the  residence  of  his  friend  and 
former  pupil,  Mr.  Swanwick,  to  meet  the  distinguished  American, 
Emerson.  It  was  interesting  to  see  those  two  remarkable  men, 
so  dilFerent  in  most  respects,  and  whose  lines  of  thought  and 
action  lay  in  such  widely  different  directions,  yet  so  quick  to  re- 
cognize each  other's  merits.  Mr.  Stephenson  was  not,  of  course, 
acquainted  with  Mr.  Emerson  as  an  author ;  and  the  contempla- 
tive American  might  not  be  supposed  to  be  particularly  interested 
beforehand  in  the  English  engineer,  whom  he  knew  by  reputation 
only  as  a  giant  in  the  material  world.     But  there  was  in  both  an 


462  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSOX. 

equal  aspiration  after  excellence,  each  in  his  own  sphere — the 
{esthetic  and  abstract  tendencies  of  the  one  complimenting  the 
keen  and  accurate  perceptions  of  the  material  of  the  other. 
Upon  being  introduced,  they  did  not  immediately  engage  in  con- 
versation ;  but  presently  Mr.  Stephenson  jumped  up,  took  Emer- 
son by  the  collar,  and  giving  him  one  of  his  friendly  shakes,  asked 
how  it  was  that  in  England  we  could  always  tell  an  American  ? 
This  led  to  an  interesting  conversation,  in  the  course  of  which 
Emerson  said  how  much  he  had  everywhere  been  struck  by  the 
haleness  and  comeliness  of  the  English  men  and  women ;  and 
this  diverged  into  a  further  discussion  of  tlie  influences  which  air, 
climate,  moisture,  soil,  and  other  conditions  exercised  upon  the 
physical  and  moral  development  of  a  people.  From  this  the 
conversation  Avas  directed  upon  the  subject  of  electricity,  upon 
whicli  Mr.  Stephenson  launched  out  enthusiastically,  explaining 
his  views  by  several  simple  and  striking  illustrations.  From 
thence  it  diverged  into  the  events  of  his  own  life,  which  he  re- 
lated in  so  graphic  a  manner  as  completely  to  rivet  the  attention 
of  the  American.  Afterwards,  Emerson  said,  "  that  it  was  worth 
crossing  the  Atlantic  to  have  seen  Stephenson  alone ;  he  had 
such  native  force  of  character  and  vigor  of  intellect."  Although 
Emei'son  does  not  particularly  refer  to  this  interview  in  the  in- 
teresting essay  afterwards  published  by  him,  entitled  "  English 
Traits,'*  embodying  the  results  of  the  observations  made  by  him 
in  his  journeys  through  England,  one  cannot  help  feeling  that  his 
interview  Avith  such  a  man  as  Stephenson  must  have  tended  to 
fix  in  his  mind  those  sterling  qualities  of  pluck,  bottom,  persever- 
ance, energy,  shrewdness,  bravery,  and  freedom,  Avhich  he  so  viv- 
idly depicts  in  his  book  as  the  prominent  characteristics  of  the 
modern  Englishman. 

The  rest  of  his  days  were  spent  quietly  at  Tapton,  amongst 
his  dogs,  his  rabbits,  and  his  birds.  When  not  attending  to  the 
extensive  works  connected  Avith  his  collieries,  he  Avas  engaged  in 
horticulture  and  farming.     He  continued  proud  of  his  flowers, 


HIS   DEATH  —  STATUES.  463 

his  fruits  and  his  crops ;  and  the  old  spirit  of  competition  still 
lived  strons  within  him.  Although  he  had  for  some  time  been 
in  delicate  health,  and  his  hand  shook  from  nervous  affection,  he 
appeared  to  possess  a  sound  constitution.  Emerson  had  observed 
of  him  that  he  had  the  lives  of  many  men  in  him.  But  perhaps 
the  American  spoke  figuratively,  in  reference  to  his  vast  stores 
of  experience.  It  appeared  that  he  had  never  completely  recov- 
ered from  the  attack  of  pleurisy  which  seized  him  shortly  after 
his  return  from  Spain.  As  late  however  as  the  26th  of  July, 
1848,  he  felt  himself  sufficiently  well  to  be  able  to  attend  a  meet- 
insr  of  the  Birminirham  Institute,  and  to  read  to  the  members 
his  paper  "  On  the  Fallacies  of  the  Rotary  Engine."  It  was  his 
last  appearance  before  them.  Shortly  after  his  return  to  Tapton, 
he  had  an  attack  of  intermittent  fever,  from  which  he  seemed  to 
be  recovering,  when  a  sudden  effusion  of  blood  from  the  lungs 
carried  him  off,  on  the  12th  of  August,  1848,  in  the  sixty-seventh 
year  of  his  age. 

His  remains  were  followed  to  the  grave  by  a  large  body  of 
his  workpeople,  by  whom  he  was  greatly  admired  and  beloved. 
They  remembered  him  as  a  kind  master,  who  was  ever  ready 
actively  to  promote  all  measures  for  their  moral,  physical,  and 
mental  improvement.  The  inhabitants  of  Chesterfield  evinced 
their  respect  for  the  deceased  by  suspending  business,  closing 
their  shops,  and  joining  in  the  funeral  procession,  which  was 
headed  by  the  corporation  of  the  town.  Many  of  the  surrounding 
gentry  also  attended  the  funeral.  The  body  was  interred  in 
Trinity  Church,  Chesterfield,  where  a  simple  tablet  marks  the 
great  engineer's  last  resting-place. 

The  statue  of  George  Stephenson,  which  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  and  Grand  Junction  Companies  had  commissioned, 
was  on  its  Avay  to  England  Avhen  his  death  occurred ;  and  the 
statue  served  for  a  monument,  though  his  best  monument  will 
always  be  his  works.  The  Liverpool  Board  placed  a  minute  ou 
their  books,  embodying  also  the  graceful  tribute  of  their  secretary, 


464  LIFE  OF    GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

Mr.  Henry  Booth,  in  which  they  recorded  their  admiration  of  the 
life,  and  their  esteem  for  the  character  of  the  deceased.  "  The 
directors,"  they  say,  "  on  the  present  occasion  look  back  with 
peculiar  interest  to  their  first  connection  with  Mr.  Stephenson,  in 
the  construction  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway ;  to  a 
period  now  twenty  years  past,  when  he  floated  their  new  line 
over  Chat  Moss,  and  cut  his  Avay  through  the  rock-cutting  at 
Olive  Mount.  Tracing  the  progress  of  railways  from  the  first 
beginning  to  the  present  time,  they  find  Mr.  Stephenson  foremost 
in  urging  forward  the  great  railway  movement ;  earning  and 
maintaining  his  title  to  be  considered,  before  any  other  man,  the 
author  of  that  universal  system  of  locomotion  which  has  effected 
such  mighty  results — commercial,  social,  and  political — through- 
out the  civilized  world.  Two  years  ago,  the  directors  entrusted 
to  Mr.  Gibson,  of  Rome,  the  duty  and  the  privilege  of  producing 
a  statue  that  might  do  honor  to  their  friend,  then  living  amongst 
them.  They  did  not  anticipate  that  on  the  completion  of  this 
work  of  art  the  great  original  would  be  no  more  —  that  they 
should  be  constrained  to  accept  the  marble  effigy  of  the  engineer 
in  lieu  of  the  living  presence  of  the  man."  *  The  statue  here 
referred  to  was  placed  in  St.  George's  Hall,  Liverpool.  A  full- 
length  statue  of  the  deceased,  by  Bailey,  was  also  erected  a  few 
years  later,  in  the  noble  vestibule  of  the  London  and  Northwestern 
Station,  in  Euston  Square.  A  subscription  for  the  purpose  was 
set  on  foot  by  the  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers,  of  which  he 
had  been  the  founder  and  president.  A  few  advertisements  were 
inserted  in  the  newspapers,  inviting  subscriptions ;  and  it  is  a 
notable  fact  that  the  voluntary  offerings  shortly  received  included 
an  average  of  two  shillings  each  from  3,150  working  men,  who 
embraced  this  opportunity  of  doing  honor  to  their  distinguished 
fellow-workman. 

George  Stephenson  had  a  shrewd,  kind,  honest,  manly  face. 

*  Minutes  of  the  Lirerpool  Board  of  the  London  and  Northwestern  Railway  Company, 
6th  Sept.,  1848. 


Statue    of    Stepliensoix    at   Evistoii    Square. 


i 


HIS   PORTRAIT.  465 

His  fair,  clear  countenance  was  ruddy,  and  seemingly  glowed  with 
health.  The  forehead  was  large  and  high,  projecting  over  the 
eyes ;  and  there  was  that  massive  breadth  across  the  lower  part, 
which  is  usually  observed  in  men  of  eminent  constructive  skill. 
The  mouth  was  firmly  marked ;  and  shrewdness  and  humor  lurked 
there  as  well  as  in  the  keen  gray  eye.  His  frame  was  compact, 
well-knit,  and  rather  spare.  His  hair  became  gray  at  an  early 
age,  and  towards  the  close  of  his  life  it  was  of  a  pure  silky 
whiteness.  He  dressed  neatly  in  black,  wearing  a  white  neck- 
cloth ;  and  his  face,  his  person,  and  his  deportment  at  once 
arrested  attention,  and  marked  the  gentleman. 
30 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

HIS  CHARACTER. 

The  life  of  George  Stephenson,  though  imperfectly  portrayed 
in  the  preceding  pages,  will  be  found  to  contain  many  valuable 
lessons.  His  was  the  life  of  a  true  man,  and  presented  a  striking 
combination  of  those  sterling  qualities  which  we  are  proud  to 
regard  as  essentially  English. 

Doubtless  he  owed  much  to  his  birth,  belonging  as  he  did  to 
the  hardy  and  persevering  race  of  the  north — a  race  less  supple, 
soft,  and  polished  than  the  people  of  the  more  southern  districts 
of  England,  but,  like  their  Danish  progenitors,  full  of  courage, 
vigor,  ingenuity,  and  persevering  industry.  Tlieir  strong,  gut- 
tural speech,  which  sounds  so  harsh  and  unmusical  in  southern 
ears,  is  indeed  but  a  type  of  their  nature.  When  Mr.  Stephenson 
was  struggling  to  give  utterance  to  his  views  upon  the  locomotive 
before  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  those  who  did 
not  know  him  supposed  he  was  "  a  foreigner."  Before  long  the 
world  saw  in  him  an  Englishman,  stout-hearted  and  true — one 
of  those  master  minds  who,  by  energetic  action  in  new  fields  of 
industry,  impress  their  character  from  time  to  time  upon  the  age 
and  nation  to  which  they  belong. 

The  poverty  of  his  parents  being  such  that  they  could  not  give 
him  any,  even  the  very  simplest  education,  beyond  the  good 
example  of  integrity  and  industry,  he  Avas  early  left  to  shift  for 

himself,  and  compelled  to  be  self-reliant.     Having  the  will  to 

C4GG) 


PERSEVERANCE THOROUGHNESS.         467 

learn,  he  soon  forced  for  himself  a  way.  No  beginning  could 
have  been  more  humble  than  his ;  but  he  persevered :  he  had 
determined  to  learn,  and  he  did  leam.  To  such  a  resolution  as 
his,  nothing  really  beneficial  in  life  is  denied.  He  might  have 
said,  hke  Sebastian  Bach,  "  I  was  industrious ;  and  whoever  is 
equally  sedulous  will  be  equally  successful." 

The  whole  secret  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  success  in  life  was  his 
careful  improvement  of  time,  which  is  the  rock  out  of  which 
fortunes  are  carved  and  great  characters  formed.  He  believed  in 
genius  to  the  extent  that  Buffon  did  when  he  said  that  "  patience 
is  genius;"  or  as  some  other  thinker  put  it,  when  he  defined 
genius  to  be  the  power  of  making  efforts.  But  he  never  would 
have  it  that  he  was  a  genius,  or  that  he  had  done  any  thing  which 
other  men,  equally  laborious  and  persevering  as  himself,  could 
not  have  accomplished.  He  repeatedly  said  to  the  young  men 
about  him :  "  Do  as  I  have  done — persevere !"  He  perfected  the 
locomotive  by  always  working  at  it  and  always  thinking  about  it. 

Every  step  of  advance  which  he  made  was  conquered  by 
patient  labor.  When  an  engineman,  he  systematically  took  his 
engine  to  pieces  on  Saturday  afternoons,  while  the  works  were  at 
a  stand,  for  the  purpose  of  cleaning  it  thoroughly,  and  "gaining 
insight."  He  thus  gradually  mastered  the  mechanism  of  the 
steam-engine,  so  that,  when  opportunity  offered,  he  was  enabled 
to  improve  it,  and  to  make  it  work  even  when  its  own  maker 
was  baffled.  He  practically  studied  hydraulics  in  the  same 
plodding  way,  when  acting  as  plugman ;  and  when  all  the  local 
pump  doctors  at  Killingworth  were  in  despair,  he  stepped  in,  and 
successfully  applied  the  knowledge  which  he  had  so  laboriously 
gained.  A  man  of  such  a  temper  and  purpose  could  not  but 
succeed  in  life. 

His  long  labor  to  invent  the  perpetual  motion  was  not  lost. 
The  attempt  did  him  good,  stimulating  his  inventiveness  and 
mechanical  ingenuity.  He  afterwards  used  to  lament  this  loss 
of  time,  and  said  that  if  he  had  enjoyed  the  opportunity  which 


468  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

young  men  of  this  day  have,  of  knowing  li'om  books  what  others 
had  done  before  them,  he  would  have  been  spared  much  labor 
and  mortification.  Sometimes  he  thought  he  had  hit  upon  dis- 
coveries, which  he  afterwards  found  were  but  old  fallacies  long 
since  exploded.  Yet  the  very  effort  to  overcome  difficulty  was 
of  itself  an  education.  By  wrestling  with  it,  he  strengthened  his 
judgment  and  sharpened  his  skill.  Being  in  earnest  in  his 
struggle,  he  was  compelled  to  consider  the  subject  in  all  its  rela- 
tions ;  and  this  would  not  suffer  him  to  be  superficial.  He  thus 
acquired  practical  ability  through  his  steadfast  efforts  even  after 
the  impracticable  ;  and,  like  other  inventors,  he  gained  his  knowl- 
edge of  what  will  do,  by  successive  trials  of  what  will  not  do. 

Wliether  working  as  a  brakesman  or  an  engineer,  his  mind 
was  always  full  of  the  work  in  hand.  He  gave  himself  thor- 
oughly up  to  it.  Like  the  painter,  he  might  say  that  he  had 
become  great  "by  neglecting  nothing."  Whatever  he  was 
engaged  upon,  he  was  as  careful  of  the  details  as  if  each  Avere 
itself  the  whole.  He  did  all  thoroughly  and  honestly.  There 
was  no  "  scamping"  with  him.  When  a  workman,  he  put  his 
brains  and  labor  into  his  work ;  and  when  a  master,  he  put  his 
conscience  and  character  into  it.  He  would  have  no  slop-work 
executed  merely  for  the  sake  of  profit.  The  materials  must  be 
as  genuine  as  the  workmanship  was  skillful.  The  structures 
which  he  designed  and  executed  were  distinguished  for  their 
thoroughness  and  solidity ;  his  locomotives  were  famous  for  their 
durability  and  excellent  working  qualities.  The  engines  which 
he  sent  to  the  United  States  in  1832  are  still  in  good  condition  ;* 
and  even  the  engines  built  by  him  for  the  Ivillingworth  colliery, 
upwards  of  thirty  years  ago,  are  working  steadily  there  to  this 
day.  All  his  work  was  honest,  representing  the  actual  character 
of  the  man. 

*  In  1852,  Major-General  MacNeil  (U.  S.)  said :  "  Their  best  engines  were  imported  from 
England  Those  supplied  in  1832,  by  Stephenson  &  Co.,  were  still  in  excellent  working 
order." — Discussion  at  the  Institution  0/  Ciml  Engineirs,  April  21th,  1852. 


ENERGY   AND    DETERMINATION.  469 

The  battle  which  Mr.  Stephenson  fought  for  the  locomotive — 
and  he  himself  always  spoke  of  it  as  a  "battle" — would  have 
discouraged  most  other  men ;  but  it  only  served  to  bring  into 
prominence  that  energy  and  determination  which  formed  the 
back-bone  of  his  character.  "  I  have  fought,"  said  he,  "  for  the 
locomotive  single-handed  for  nearly  twenty  years,  having  no 
engineer  to  help  me  until  I  had  reared  engineers  under  my  own 
care."  The  leading  engineers  of  the  day  were  against  him,  with- 
out exception ;  yet  he  did  not  despair.  He  had  laid  hold  of  a 
great  idea,  and  he  stuck  by  it ;  his  mind  was  locked  and  bolted 
to  the  results.  "  I  put  up,"  he  says,  "  with  every  rebuff,  deter- 
viined  not  to  be  put  down."  "When  the  use  of  his  locomotive  on 
the  Livei'pool  and  Manchester  line  was  reported  against,  and  the 
employment  of  fixed  engines  recommended  instead,  Mr.  Stephen- 
son implored  the  directors,  who  were  no  engineers,  only  to  afford 
a  fair  opportunity  for  a  trial  of  the  locomotive.  Their  common 
sense  came  to  his  rescue.  They  had  immense  confidence  in  that 
Newcastle  engine-wright.  He  had  already  made  steadfast  friends 
of  several  of  the  most  influential  men  amongst  them,  who  valued 
his  manly  uprightness  and  integrity,  and  were  strongly  disposed 
to  believe  in  him,  though  all  the  engineering  world  stood  on  the 
one  side,  and  he  alone  on  the  other.  His  patient  purpose,  not 
less  than  his  intense  earnestness,  carried  them  away.  They 
adopted  his  recommendation,  and  oflfered  a  prize  of  500^.  for  the 
best  locomotive.  Though  many  proclaimed  the  Liverpool  men 
to  be  as  great  maniacs  as  Stephenson,  yet  the  result  proved  the 
practical  sagacity  of  the  directors  and  the  skill  of  their  engineer ; 
but  it  was  the  determined  purpose  of  the  latter  which  secured  the 
triumph  of  the  locomotive.  His  resolution,  founded  on  sound 
convictions,  was  the  precurser  of  what  he  eventually  achieved ; 
and  his  intense  anticipation  was  but  the  true  presentiment  of 
what  he  was  afterwards  found  capable  of  accomplishing. 

He  was  ready  to  turn  his  hand  to  anythmg — shoes  and  clocks, 
railways  and  locomotives.     He  contrived  his  safety-lamp  with  the 


470  LIFE   OP   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

object  of  saving  pitmen's  lives,  and  periled  his  own  life  in  testing 
it.  Whatever  work  was  nearest  him,  he  turned  to  and  did  it. 
With  him,  to  resolve  was  to  do.  Many  men  knew  far  more  than 
he ;  but  none  was  more  ready  forthwith  to  apply  what  he  did 
know  to  practical  purposes. 

Sir  Joshua  Walmsley  mentions,  that  when  examining  the 
works  of  the  Orleans  and  Tours  Railway,  Mr.  Stephenson,  see- 
ing a  large  number  of  excavators  filling  and  wheeling  sand  in  a 
cutting,  at  a  great  waste  of  time  and  labor,  after  the  manner  of 
foreign  navvies,  he  went  up  to  the  men  and  said  he  would  show 
them  how  to  fill  their  barrows  in  half  the  time.  He  showed 
them  the  proper  position  in  which  to  stand  so  as  to  exercise  the 
gi'eatest  amount  of  power  with  the  least  waste  of  strength ;  and 
he  filled  the  barrow  with  comparative  ease  again  and  again  in 
their  presence,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  workmen.  When  pass- 
ing through  his  own  workshops,  he  would  point  out  to  his  men 
how  to  save  labor  and  to  get  through  their  work  skillfully  and 
with  ease.  His  energy  imparted  itself  to  others,  quickening  aiid 
influencing  them  as  strong  characters  always  do — flowing  down 
into  theirs,  and  bringing  out  their  best  powers.  He  was  the 
zealous  friend  of  Mechanics'  Institutes,  and  often  addressed  them 
in  his  homely  but  always  interesting  style — cheering  young  men 
on  by  the  recital  of  his  own  difficulties,  which  he  had  overcome 
through  perseverance. 

His  deportment  towards  the  workmen  employed  under  him 
was  familiar,  yet  firm  and  consistent.  As  he  respected  then- 
manhood,  so  did  they  respect  his  masterhood.  Although  he  com- 
ported himself  towards  his  men  as  if  they  occupied  very  much 
the  same  level  as  himself,  he  yet  pos^sessed  that  peculiar  capacity 
for  governing  others  which  enabled  him  always  to  preserve 
amongst  them  the  strictest  discipline,  and  to  secure  their  cheerful 
and  hearty  services. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  features  of  Mr.  Stephenson's  char- 
acter, was  the  afl^ectionate  interest  which  he  took  in  the  education 


GENEROSITY    OF    IIIS    SON.  471 

of  his  son,  stinting  himself  when  only  a  poor  working  man  in 
order  to  provide  his  hoy  with  useful  learning.  He  was  not  satis- 
fied till  he  had  obtained  for  him  the  advantages  of  a  University 
course.     Then  he  found  him  a  most  valuable  fellow-worker. 

From  the  opening  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Eailway, 
the  woi-ks  of  the  father  and  the  son  can  scarcely  be  separated. 
In  their  great  engineering  enterprises,  and  in  the  successive  im- 
provements effected  by  them  in  the  arrangement  and  construction 
of  the  locomotive,  their  names  are  indissolubly  united.  Of  the 
distinguished  works  of  the  son,  it  would  be  out  of  place  to  speak 
at  length.  But  the  London  and  Birmingham  Railway,  the  Tu- 
bular Bridge  over  the  Menai  Straits,  and  the  High  Level  Bridge 
at  Newcastle,  are  works  which  future  generations  will  point  to  as 
worthy  of  the  greatest  engineer  of  his  day,  and  as  noble  results 
of  George  Stephenson's  self-denying  determination  to  educate  liis 
son  to  the  fullest  extent  of  his  ability. 

We  cannot,  however,  refrain  from  mentioning  the  manner  in 
which  Mr.  Stephenson's  son  has  repaid  the  obligations  which 
both  were  under  to  the  Newcastle  Literary  and  Philosophical 
Institute,  when  working  together  as  humble  experimenters  in 
their  cottage  at  Killingworth.  The  Institute  was,  until  quite 
recently,  struggling  under  a  debt  of  6,200^.,  which  seriously  im- 
paired its  usefulness  as  an  educational  agency.  Mr.  Robert  Ste- 
phenson offered  to  pay  one  half  of  the  entire  sum,  provided  the 
local  supporters  of  the  Institute  would  raise  the  remainder ;  and 
conditional  also  on  the  annual  subscription  being  reduced  from 
two  guineas  to  one,  in  order  that  the  usefulness  of  the  institution 
might  be  extended.  The  generous  offer  was  accepted,  and  the 
debt  extinguished. 

Probably  no  military  chiefs  were  ever  more  beloved  by  their 
soldiers  than  were  both  father  and  son  by  the  array  of  men  who, 
under  their  guidance,  worked  at  labors  of  profit,  made  labors  of 
love  by  their  earnest  will  and  purpose.  True  leaders  of  men  and 
lords  of  industry,  they  were  always  ready  to  recognize  and  en- 


472  LIFE  OF   GEORGE    STEPHENSON. 

courage  talent  in  those  who  worked  for  and  with  them.  It  was 
pleasant  at  the  openings  of  the  Stephenson  lines,  to  hear  the  chief 
engineers  attributing  the  successful  completion  of  the  works  to 
their  able  assistants ;  whilst  the  assistants,  on  the  other  hand, 
ascribed  the  entire  glory  to  their  chiefs. 

A  fine  trait  in  Mr.  Stephenson's  character  was  his  generosity, 
which  would  not  permit  an  attack  to  be  made  upon  the  absent 
or  the  weak.  He  would  never  sanction  any  injustice  of  act  or 
opinion  towards  those  associated  with  himself.  On  one  occasion, 
during  the  progress  of  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  works, 
while  he  had  a  strong  party  to  contend  with  at  the  Board,  the 
conduct  of  one  of  his  assistants  was  called  in  question,  as  he 
thought  unjustly,  and  a  censure  was  threatened.  Rather  than 
submit  to  this  injustice  to  his  assistant,  Mr.  Stephenson  tendered 
his  resignation ;  but  it  was  not  accepted,  and  the  censure  was  not 
voted.  The  same  chivalrous  protection  was  on  many  occasions 
extended  by  him  to  the  weaker  against  the  stronger.  Even  if 
he  were  himself  displeased  with  any  one  engaged  about  him,  any 
attack  from  another  quarter  would  rouse  him  in  defense,  not  in 
the  spirit  of  opposition,  but  from  a  kind  and  generous  impulse  to 
succor  those  in  difficulty. 

Mr.  Stephenson,  though  a  thrifty  and  frugal  man,  was  essen- 
tially unsordid.  His  rugged  path  in  eai'ly  life  made  him  careful 
of  his  resources.  He  never  saved  to  hoard,  but  saved  for  a  pur- 
pose, such  as  the  maintenance  of  his  parents  or  the  education  of 
his  son.  In  latter  years,  he  became  a  prosperous  and  even  a 
wealthy  man ;  but  riches  never  closed  his  heart,  nor  stole  away 
the  elasticity  of  his  soul.  He  enjoyed  life  cheerfully,  because 
hopefully.  When  he  entered  upon  a  commercial  enterprise, 
whether  for  others  or  for  himself,  he  looked  carefully  at  the  ways 
and  means.  Unless  they  would  "pay,"  he  held  back.  "He 
would  have  nothing  to  do,"  he  declared,  "with  stock-jobbing 
speculations."  His  refusal  to  sell  his  name  to  the  schemes  of 
the  railway  mania — his  survey  of  the   Spanish  lines  without 


COMPARISON   WITH   WATT.  473 

remuneration — his  offer  to  postpone  his  claim  for  payment  from 
a  poor  company  until  their  affairs  became  more  prosperous — are 
instances  of  the  unsordid  spirit  in  which  he  acted.  "No  mere 
pecuniary  interest,"  it  has  been  well  said,  "could  have  led  George 
Stephenson  to  persevere  in  his  onward  course  from  boyhood, 
when  he  toiled  as  a  slave  to  the  great  steam-engine  of  the  mine, 
up  to  the  period  when  he  had  forced  his  way  through  all  the  dif- 
ficulties, natural  and  artificial,  of  the  Manchester  and  Liverpool 
way.  No  mere  calculation  of  percentages  and  dividends  wrought 
this  work.  It  was  the  high  heroic  soul,  the  strong  English  spirit, 
the  magnificent  will,  the  indomitable  energy,  that  accomplished 
this  world-enduring  labor."  * 

Another  marked  feature  in  Mr.  Stephenson's  character  was 
his  patience.  NotAvithstanding  the  strength  of  his  convictions  as 
to  the  great  uses  to  which  the  locomotive  might  be  applied,  he 
waited  long  and  patiently  for  the  opportunity  of  bringing  it  into 
notice  ;  and  for  years  after  he  had  completed  an  efficient  engine 
he  went  on  quietly  devoting  himself  to  the  ordinary  work  of  the 
colliery.  He  made  no  noise  nor  stir  about  his  locomotive,  but 
allowed  another  to  take  credit  for  the  experiments  on  velocity 
and  friction  made  with  it  by  liimself  upon  the  Killingworth  rail- 
road. 

By  patient  industry  and  laborious  contrivance,  he  was  enabled 
to  do  for  the  locomotive  what  James  Watt  had  done  for  the  con- 
densing engine.  He  found  it  clumsy  and  inefficient ;  and  he 
made  it  powerful,  efficient  and  useful.  Both  have  been  described 
as  the  improvers  of  their  respective  engines ;  but,  as  to  all  that 
is  admirable  in  their  structure  or  vast  in  their  utility,  they  are 
rather  entitled  to  be  described  as  their  inventors.  While  the 
invention  of  Watt  increased  the  power,  and  at  the  same  time  so 
regulated  the  action,  of  the  steam-engine,  as  to  make  it  capable 
of  being  applied  alike  to  the  hardest  work  and  to  the  finest  man- 
ufactures, the  invention  of  Stephenson  gave  an  effective  power 

*  Westminster  Review,  Sept.  1844. 


474  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  STEPHENSON. 

to  the  locomotive,  which  enabled  it  to  perform  the  work  of  teams 
of  the  most  powerful  horses,  and  to  outstrip  the  speed  of  the 
fleetest.  "Watt's  invention  exercised  a  wonderfully  quickening 
influence  on  every  branch  of  industry,  and  multiplied  a  thousand 
fold  the  amount  of  manufactured  productions ;  and  Stephenson's 
enabled  these  to  be  distributed  with  an  economy  and  dispatch 
such  as  had  never  before  been  thought  possible.  They  have 
both  tended  to  increase  indefinitely  the  mass  of  human  comforts 
and  enjoyments,  and  to  render  them  cheap  and  accessible  to  all. 
But  Stephenson's  invention,  by  the  influence  which  it  is  daily 
exercising  upon  the  civilization  of  the  world,  is  even  more  re- 
markable than  that  of  Watt,  and  is  calculated  to  have  still  more 
important  consequences.  In  this  respect,  it  is  to  be  regarded  as 
the  grandest  application  of  steam  power  that  has  yet  been  dis- 
covered. The  locomotive,  like  the  condensing  engine,  exhibits 
the  realization  of  various  capital,  but  wholly  distmct,  ideas,  pro- 
mulgated by  many  ingenious  inventors.  Stephenson,  like  Watt, 
exliibited  a  power  of  selection,  combination  and  invention  of  his 
own,  by  which — while  availing  himself  of  all  that  had  been  done 
before  him,  and  superadding  the  many  skillful  contrivances  de- 
vised by  himself — he  was  at  length  enabled  to  bring  his  engine 
into  a  condition  of  marvelous  power  and  efficiency.  He  gathered 
together  the  scattered  threads  of  ingenuity  which  already  existed, 
and  combined  them  into  one  firm  and  complete  fabric  of  his  own. 
He  realized  the  plans  which  others  had  imperfectly  formed ;  and 
was  the  first  to  construct,  what  so  many  others  had  unsuccessfully 
attempted,  the  practical  working  locomotive. 

In  his  deportment,  Mr.  Stephenson  was  simple,  modest  and 
unassuming,  but  always  manly.  He  was  frank  and  social  in 
spirit.  When  an  humble  workman,  he  had  carefully  preserved 
his  sense  of  self-respect.  His  companions  looked  up  to  him,  and 
his  example  was  worth  even  more  to  many  of  them  than  books 
or  schools.  His  devoted  love  of  knowledge  made  his  poverty 
respectable,  and  adorned  his  humble  calling.     When  he  rose  to 


CLOSE   OBSERVATION    OF   NATURE.  475 

a  more  elevated  station,  and  associated  with  men  of  the  highest 
position  and  influence  in  Britain,  he  took  his  place  amongst  them 
with  perfect  self-possession.  They  wonflered  at  the  quiet  ease 
and  simple  dignity  of  his  deportment ;  and  men  in  the  best  ranks 
of  life  have  said  of  him  that  "  He  was  one  of  Nature's  gentlemen." 

If  he  was  occasionally  impatient  of  the  opposition  of  profes- 
sional brethren,  it  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  when  we  look 
at  the  simple  earnestness  of  his  character,  and  consider  that  his 
sole  aim  was  the  establishment  of  his  own  well-founded  convic- 
tions. Ko  wonder  that  he  should  have  been  intolerant  of  that 
professional  gladiatoi'ship  against  which  his  life  had  been  one 
prolonged  struggle.  Nor  could  he  forget  that  the  engineering 
class  had  been  arrayed  against  him  during  his  arduous  battle  for 
the  locomotive,  and  that,  but  for  his  own  pluck  and  persistency, 
they  would  have  strangled  it  in  its  cradle. 

Mr.  Stephenson's  close  observation  of  nature  provided  him  with 
a  fullness  of  information  on  many  subjects,  which  often  appeared 
surprising  to  those  who  had  devoted  to  them  a  special  study.  In 
passing  through  a  country,  nothing  escaped  his  attention — the 
trees,  the  crops,  the  birds,  the  farmers'  stock — in  short,  every- 
thing in  nature  afforded  him  an  opportunity  for  making  some 
striking  observation,  or  propounding  some  ingenious  theory. 
This  rendered  him  a  highly  mstructive  and  amusing  companion 
at  all  times.  On  one  occasion  the  accuracy  of  his  knowledge  of 
birds  came  out  in  a  curious  way  at  a  convivial  meeting  of  rail- 
way men  in  London.  The  engineers  and  railway  directors 
present  knew  each  other  as  railway  men  and  nothing  more. 
The  talk  had  been  all  of  railways  and  railway  politics,  Mr. 
Stephenson  was  a  great  talker  on  these  subjects,  and  was  gener- 
ally allowed,  from  the  interest  of  his  conversation  and  the  extent 
of  his  experience,  to  take  the  lead.  At  length,  one  of  the  party 
broke  in  with  "  Come  now,  Stephenson,  we  have  had  nothing  but 
railways ;  can  not  we  have  a  change,  and  try  if  we  can  talk  a 
little  about  something  else  ?"     "Well,"  said  Mr.  Stephenson,  "I'll 


476  LIFE  OF  GEORGE   STEPHENSON". 

give  you  a  Avide  range  of  subjects — what  shall  it  be  about?'* 
"Say  birds'  nests!"  rejoined  the  other,  who  prided  himself  on  his 
special  knowledge  of  tins  subject.  "Then  birds'  nests  be  it."  A 
long  and  animated  conversation  ensued ;  the  bird-nesting  of  his 
boyhood,  the  blackbird's  nest  which  his  father  had  held  him  up 
in  his  arms  to  look  at  when  a  child  at  Wylam,  the  hedges  in 
which  he  had  found  the  thrush's  and  the  linnet's  nests,  the  mossy 
bank  where  the  robin  built,  the  cleft  in  the  branch  of  the  young 
tree  where  the  chaffinch  had  reared  its  dwelHng — all  rose  up 
clear  in  his  mind's  eye,  and  led  him  back  to  the  scenes  of  his 
boyhood  at  Callerton  and  Dewley  Burn.  The  color  and  number 
of  the  bird's  eggs,  the  period  of  their  incubation,  the  materials 
employed  by  them  for  the  walls  and  linings  of  their  nests — were 
described  by  him  so  vividly,  and  illustrated  by  such  gi-aphic 
anecdotes,  that  one  of  the  party  remarked  that,  if  George  Ste- 
phenson had  not  been  the  greatest  engineer  of  his  day,  he  might 
have  been  one  of  the  greatest  naturalists. 

It  is  Goethe,  we  believe,  who  has  said  that  no  man  ever  re- 
ceives a  new  idea,  at  variance  with  his  preconceived  notions,  after 
forty.  But  this  observation,  though  it  may  be  generally,  is  not 
invariably  true.  There  are  many  great  minds  which  never  close. 
Mr.  Stephenson,  to  the  last,  was  open  to  the  reception  of  new 
ideas,  new  facts,  new  theories.  He  was  a  late  learner ;  but  he 
went  on  learning  to  the  end.  He  shut  his  mind,  however,  against 
what  he  considered  humbugs — especially  mechanical  humbugs. 
Thus,  he  said  at  Tamworth,  that  he  had  not  been  to  see  the  at- 
mospheric railway  because  it  was  a  great  humbug.  He  had  gone 
to  see  Pinkus's  model  of  it,  and  that  had  determined  him  on  the 
subject.  He  then  declared  the  atmospheric  system  to  be  "  a  rope 
of  sand ; "  it  could  never  hold  together,  and  he  would  not  coun- 
tenance it. 

When  he  heard  of  Perkins's  celebrated  machine,  which  was 
said  to  work  at  a  tremendous  pressure,  without  steam,  but  with 
water  in  the  boiler  almost  at  red  heat,  he  went  with  his  son  to 


HIS    BENEVOLENCE.  477 

see  it.  The  engine  exhibited  was  of  six-horse  power,  and  the 
pressure  was  said  to  be  not  less  than  15001bs.  to  the  square  inch. 
Mr.  Stephenson  said  he  thouglit  it  humbug ;  but  he  would  test  its 
power.  Taking  up  a  little  oakum,  and  wrapping  some  round 
each,  hand,  he  firmly  seized  hold  of  the  piston  rod  and  held  it 
down  with  all  his  strength.  The  machine  was  at  once  brought 
to  a  stand,  very  much  to  ]Mr.  Perkins's  annoyance.  But  the 
humbug  had  been  exploded  to  'Mr.  Stephenson's  satisfaction. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  life  he  frequently  went  down  to  New- 
castle, and  visited  the  scenes  of  his  boyhood.  "  I  have  been  to 
Callerton,"  said  he  one  day  to  a  friend,  "  and  seen  the  fields  in 
which  I  used  to  puU  turnips  at  twopence  a  day ;  and  many  a  cold 
fijiger,  I  can  tell  you,  I  had." 

His  hand  was  open  to  his  former  fellow-workmen  whom  old 
age  had  left  in  poverty.  He  would  slip  a  five-pound  note  into 
the  hand  of  a  poor  man  or  a  widow  in  such  a  way  as  not  to 
offend  their  delicacy,  but  to  make  them  feel  as  if  the  obligation 
were  aU  on  his  side.  To  poor  Robert  Gray,  of  Newburn,  who 
acted  as  his  bridesman,  on  his  marriage  to  Fanny  Henderson,  he 
left  a  pension  for  life,  which  continues  to  be  paid  him. 

About  the  beginning  of  1847,  Mr.  Stephenson  was  requested 
to  state  what  were  his  "  ornamental  initials,"  in  order  that  they 
might  be  added  to  his  name  in  the  title  of  a  work  proposed  to  be 
dedicated  to  him.  His  reply  was  characteristic.  "  I  have  to 
state,"  said  Mr.  Stephenson,  "  that  I  have  no  flourishes  to  my 
name,  either  before  or  after ;  and  I  think  it  will  be  as  well  if  you 
merely  say  '  George  Stephenson.'  It  is  true  that  I  am  a  Belgian 
knight,  but  I  do  not  wish  to  have  any  use  made  of  it.  I  have 
had  the  offer  of  knighthood  of  my  own  country  made  to  me  sev- 
eral times,  but  would  not  have  it.  I  have  been  invited  to  become 
a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  and  also  of  the  Civil  Engineers' 
Society,  but  objected  to  the  empty  additions  to  my  name.  I  am 
a  member  of  the  Geological  Society ;  and  I  have  consented  to 


478  LIFE  OF   GEORGE   STEPHENSON. 

become  President  of,  I  believe,  a  highly  respectable  Mechanics* 
Institution  at  Birmingham." 

As  the  founder  of  the  school  of  modern  engineers,  it  might 
have  been  expected  that  Mr.  Stephenson  would  have  been  invited 
to  join  the  Civil  Engineers'  Institute  ;  and,  indeed,  he  himself 
desired  to  do  so.  But  there  were  two  obstacles  to  his  beinsr  ad- 
mitted  to  membership.  The  fii-st  was,  that  Mr.  Stephenson  had 
served  no  regular  apprenticeship  to  the  profession ;  and  the  sec- 
ond was  the  composition  of  a  probationary  essay  in  proof  of  his 
capacity  as  an  engineer.  Mr.  Stephenson  could  not  comply  with 
the  first  condition,  and  he  would  not  comply  with  the  second. 
The  council  of  the  institute  were  willing  to  waive  the  former,  but 
not  the  latter  point.  But  Mr.  Stephenson  said,  if  he  went  in  at 
all,  he  would  go  in  upright,  not  stooping  one  inch  ;  and  he  did 
think  it  was  too  much  to  ask  of  him,  that  he  should  undergo  the 
pi'obationary  test  required  from  comparatively  unknown  juniors, 
and  write  an  essay  in  proof  of  his  knowledge  of  engineering,  for 
the  approval  or  criticism  of  a  society,  many  of  whose  members 
had  been  his  own  pupils  or  assistants.  He  therefore  turned  his 
back,  though  reluctantly,  on  the  Institute  of  Civil  Engineers,  and 
accepted  the  office  of  President  of  the  Institution  of  Mechanical 
Engineers  at  Birmingham,  which  he  held  until  his  death. 

Sir  Robert  Peel  made  him  the  offer  of  knighthood  more  than 
once  ;  but  Mr.  Stephenson  had  no  desire  to  hang  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  titled  class,  or  to  get  perched  into  high  places  of  any  kind. 
Arago,  in  his  Eloge,  complained  that  "Watt  was  not  made  a  baron. 
But  what  lustre  would  such  a  title  have  added  to  the  name  of 
either  Watt  or  Stephenson  ?  Thank  Heaven,  the  strongest  and 
best  men  of  England  do  their  work  without  hope  of  any  such 
reward.  Never  were  men  less  the  creatures  of  government  or 
of  patronage  than  James  Watt  and  George  Stephenson ;  and,  as 
representing  the  genius  of  the  people  from  whom  they  sprang, 
we  would  rather  have  their  simple  names  descend  to  posterity 


ADVANTAGES    OF   RAILWAYS.  479 

unadorned,  than  disguised  and  hidden  under  any  unmeaning  title 
borrowed  from  the  middle  ages. 

As  respects  the  immense  advantages  of  railways  to  mankind, 
there  cannot  be  two  opinions.  They  exhibit,  probably,  the  grand- 
est organization  of  capital  and  labor  that  the  world  has  yet  seen. 
Although  they  have  unhappily  occasioned  great  loss  to  many,  the 
loss  has  been  that  of  individuals ;  whilst,  as  a  national  system, 
the  gain  has  already  been  enormous.  As  tending  to  multiply  and 
spread  abroad  the  conveniences  of  life,  opening  up  new  fields  of 
industry,  bringing  nations  nearer  to  each  other,  and  thus  promo- 
ting the  great  ends  of  civilization,  the  founding  of  the  railway 
system  by  George  Stephenson  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  important  events,  if  not  the  very  greatest  event,  in  the  first 
half  of  this  nineteenth  century. 

To  quote  his  own  modest  words,  in  conclusion,  as  expressed  at 
a  meeting  of  engineers  in  Birmingham  towards  the  close  of  his 
carcei-,  "  I  may  say,"  he  observed,  "  without  being  egotistical,  that 
I  have  mixed  with  a  greater  variety  of  society  than  perhaps  any 
man  living.  I  have  dined  in  mines  among  miners,  and  I  have 
dined  with  kings  and  queens,  and  with  all  grades  of  the  nobility, 
and  have  seen  enough  to  inspire  me  with  the  hope  that  my  exer- 
tions have  not  been  without  their  beneficial  results  —  that  my 
labors  have  not  been  in  vain." 


ri5sum£ 


OF  THE 


RAILWAT  SYSTEM  AND  ITS  RESULTS, 

31 


RESUME 


OP  THE 


RAILWAY  SYSTEM  AND  ITS  RESULTS. 

By  ROBERT  STEPHENSON,  Esq.,  M.  P. 


[As  a  fitting  conclusion  to  the  life  of  George  Stephenson,  we 
append  the  following  resume,  of  the  Railway  System  and  its  Re- 
sults, as  delivered  by  his  distinguished  son  before  the  Institution 
of  Civil  Engineers,  on  taking  the  chair  after  his  election  as  their 
President,  in  January,  1856,  and  which  we  republish  from  the 
Minutes  of  Proceedings  of  that  Institution,  by  permission  of  the 
Council.] 

Our  British  Railways  present  a  fertile  theme  for  observation,  and  in 
considering  them,  in  their  varied  relations,  my  chief  object  will  be  to  sug- 
gest topics  for  communications  and  discussion  at  the  meetings  over  which  I 
hope  to  have  the  honor  of  presiding. 

The  general  extent  and  scheme  of  the  network  of  railways  stretching 
from  beyond  Aberdeen  in  the  north,  to  Portsmouth  in  the  south  ;  and  be- 
tween Yarmouth  and  Milford  Haven  on  the  east  and  west  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  are  well  known  to  you.  To  these  must  be  added  the  Irish  lines, 
now  becoming  very  extensive  and  exercising  the  most  beneficial  influence 
on  that  portion  of  the  Empire. 

(483) 


484  RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS. 

Let  us  look,  in  the  first  instance,  to  the  length  of  these  railways.  At  the 
end  of  185i,  the  total  length  of  the  lines  authorized  by  Parliament  was 
13,983  miles  ;  but  as  1,177  miles  had  been  abandoned,  and  there  still  re- 
mained about  4,752  miles  to  be  constructed,  the  aggregate  length  of  rail- 
ways opened  in  Great  Britain  and  L-eland  at  that  time  measured  about 
8,05-i  miles— about  the  diameter  of  the  globe,  and  nearly  500  miles  more 
than  the  united  lengths  of  the  Thames,  the  Seine,  the  Rhone,  the  Ebro,  the 
Tagus,  the  Ehine,  the  Elbe,  the  Vistula,  the  Dneiper,  and  the  Danube,  or 
the  ten  chief  rivers  of  Europe. 

Of  these  8,054  miles  completed,  1,962  miles  are  single  lines.  Taking 
double  and  single  lines  together,  the  total  length  of  railway  in  the  kingdom 
is,  therefore,  14,146  miles. 

To  this  must  be  added  the  very  considerable  extent  of  rails  laid  for  sid- 
ings, which,  on  an  average,  may  be  said  to  be  equal  in  length  to  one-third 
of  the  total  mileage.  Add,  then,  say  4,000  miles  for  sidings,  there  is  a  total 
of  18,000  miles  of  railway  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. 

These  18,000  miles  have  been  the  work  of  only  twenty-five  years,  and  in 
that  short  space  of  time  there  have  been  laid  rails,  within  these  islands,  far 
more  than  are  sufiBcient  to  "  put  a  girdle  round  about  the  earth !  " 

It  will  naturally  be  asked,  what  amount  of  capital  has  been  required  for 
the  construction  of  these  vast  works?  The  amount  authorized  by  Parlia- 
ment to  be  raised  for  railway  works,  amounted,  at  the  end  of  1854,  to 
£368,000,000.  Of  that  amount  £286,000,000  has  absolutely  been  raised. 
It  is  diflScult  to  realize  to  the  imagination  what  is  £286,000,000  sterling. 
Let  us  try  to  test  the  importance  of  the  amount  by  some  familiar  compar- 
isons. It  is  more  than  four  times  the  amount  of  the  annual  value  of  all 
the  real  property  of  Great  Britain.  It  is  more  than  one-third  of  the  entire 
amount  of  the  national  debt.  We  have,  indeed,  already  spent  nearly  a 
third  of  this  sum,  in  two  years,  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war  in  which  this 
countiy  is  engaged  ;  but  it  is  impossible  not  to  reflect  that  if  nearly  £100,- 
000,000  expended  by  the  State  has  only  gained  for  us  the  advantage  of 
occupying  one  side  of  the  city,  which  the  valor  of  England  and  France  has 
doomed  to  destruction,  the  expenditure  of  £286,000,000  by  the  people  has 
secm-ed  to  us  the  advantages  of  internal  communication  all  but  perfect— of 
progress  in  science  and  arts  unexampled  at  any  period  of  the  history  of  the 
world- of  national  progress  almost  unchecked,  and  of  prosperity  and  hap- 
piness increased  beyond  all  precedent. 

In  considering  the  results  produced,  it  is  impossible  to  pass  over  the  mag- 
nitude of  the  works.  Our  tunnels  have  traversed  hills  and  penetrated 
beneath  mountains  to  the  extent  of  nearly  seventy  miles.    Of  our  viaducts, 


RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS.  485 

I  am  not  able,  at  present,  to  give  the  precise  extent ;  but  some  estimate 
may  be  formed  from  the  fact  of  tlicre  being,  in  London  and  the  suburbs, 
nearly  eleven  miles  of  viaduct,  passing  through  the  streets.  Of  railway 
bridges  there  must  have  been  built  at  least  twenty-five  thousand  ;  far  more 
than  all  the  bridges  ever  previously  known  in  England.  But  perhaps  the 
magnitude  of  the  railway  works  undertaken  in  this  country  will  be  still 
more  clearly  exhibited,  if  you  consider  the  extent  of  the  earth-works. 
Taking  them  at  an  average  of  70,000  cubic  yards  to  a  mile,  they  will  meas- 
m-e  550,000,000  cubic  yards.  What  docs  this  represent  ?  We  are  accus- 
tomed to  regard  St.  Paul's  as  a  test  for  height  and  space  ;  but  by  the  side 
of  the  pyramid  of  earth  these  works  would  rear,  St.  Paul's  would  be  but  as  a 
pigmy  by  a  giant.  Imagine  a  mountain  half  a  mile  in  diameter  at  its  base, 
and  soaring  into  the  clouds  one  mile  and  a  half  in  height ;  that  would  be 
the  size  of  the  mountain  of  earth  which  these  earth-works  would  form  ; 
while  St.  James'  Park,  from  the  Horse  Guards  to  Buckingham  Palace,  would 
scarcely  afford  space  for  its  base. 

It  is  computed,  that  no  less  than  80,000,000  miles  are  annually  traversed 
on  our  railways.  Now,  to  run  80,000,000  miles  per  annum,  2k  miles  of 
railway,  at  least,  must  be  covered  by  trains,  during  every  second  of  time, 
throughout  the  entire  year. 

To  work  our  railways,  even  to  their  present  extent,  there  must  be  at 
least  5,000  locomotive  engines  ;  and  supposing  an  engine  with  its  tender 
to  measure  only  35  feet,  it  will  be  seen,  that  the  whole  number  required  to 
work  our  railway  system  would  extend,  in  one  straight  line,  over  30  miles, 
or  the  whole  distance  from  London  to  Chatham.  But  these  are  only  the 
engines  and  tenders.  The  number  of  vehicles  of  every  sort  employed  can- 
not be  much  less  than  150,000.  Taking  the  length  of  each  vehicle  at  20 
feet,  you  will  find  that,  could  150,000  be  linked  together  in  one  train,  they 
would  reach  from  London  to  Aberdeen,  or  a  distance  of  500  miles. 

Has  any  one  present  «onsidered  the  value  of  this  railway  stock  ?  Take 
the  cost  of  each  engine  and  tender  at  £2,000,  and  the  average  cost  of  each 
carriage,  truck  and  wagon  at  £100,  and  you  have  a  total  exceeding 
£25,000,000  invested  in  rolling  stock  alone. 

But  these  are  far  from  being  all  the  startling  facts  connected  with  rail- 
way enterprise.  There  are  as  many  as  2,416  railway  stations  in  the  United 
Kingdom  — one  at  least  for  every  45,000  passengers.  The  various  Com- 
panies have,  in  their  direct  employment,  not  less  than  90,409  officers  and 
servants.  The  consumption  of  coke  by  railway  engines  amounts  to  not 
less  than  1,300,000  tons  of  that  fuel,  representing  upwards  of  2,000,000 
tons  of  coals  ;  so  that  in  every  minute  of  time,  thi-oughout  the  year,  4  tons 


486  RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS. 

of  coals  are  consumed,  and  20  tons  of  water  are  flashed  into  steam  of  high 
elasticity.  What  does  this  represent  ?  The  water  would  afford  a  supply 
to  the  population  of  Liverpool  at  the  rate  of  22  gallons  per  head  per  diem, 
and  the  steam  evolved  is  adequate  to  the  maintenance  of  stationary  engines 
of  more  than  130,000  horse  power.  The  consumption  of  fuel  is  almost 
equal  to  the  amount  of  coal  exported  from  Great  Britain  to  foreign  coun- 
tries, and  is  more  than  one  half  the  whole  consumption  of  the  Metropolis. 
If  to  this  be  added  the  amount  that  must  be  used  in  producing  the  rails 
and  other  iron  required  for  the  whole  system,  the  value  of  railways  to  the 
coal-owner  must  be  evident. 

Ten  years  ago,  in  1845,  the  entu'e  number  of  passengers  carried  upon 
railways  was  33,791,000  in  the  year.  The  railway  system  was,  at  that 
time,  thought  to  be  pretty  well  developed,  at  least  as  regarded  the  main 
channels  of  communication.  Five  years  afterwards,  in  1850,  the  number 
of  passengers  conveyed  was  72,854,000,  and  in  1854,  the  number  conveyed 
was  111,206,000.  Thus  the  number  of  passengers  has  been  more  than 
trebled  in  ten  years ;  and  assuming  an  average  of  14  persons  to  a  ton, 
there  would  be  a  gross  weight  of  upwards  of  8,000,000  tons  of  passengers 
conveyed  annually. 

The  average  distance  which  these  passengers  are  conveyed  appears  to 
be  about  12  miles.  The  average  number  carried  per  day  is  about  300,000. 
Under  the  old  coach  system  it  was  assumed,  that  on  an  average  10  pas- 
sengers could  be  earned  by  each  coach  ;  therefore,  to  carry  300,000  pas- 
sengers a  day,  12  miles  each,  at  least  10,000  coaches  and  120,000  horses 
would  be  necessary.  The  national  saving  will  be  forcibly  illustrated,  if 
you  consider  the  cost  of  running  these  coaches  and  maintaining  these 
horses,  against  the  fact  that  locomotive  expenses  on  railways  do  not,  ou 
an  average,  exceed  dkd.  per  mile. 

The  railway  receipts  for  passengers  have  been  in  the  following  pro- 
portions :  ^ 

In  1845 £3,976,000 

1850 6,827,000 

1854 9,174,000 

The  total  receipts  for  goods,  passengers,  and  from  all  other  sources,  were 
for  the  same  years  : 

In  1845 £6,209,000 

1850 13,204.000 

1854 20,215,0.00 


RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS.  487 

There  has  been  no  instance  in  the  annals  of  any  railway,  where  the  an- 
nual traflBc  has  not  been  of  continuous  growth.  Some  remarkable  facts 
illustrate  this  truth.  At  one  period  the  Midland  Railway  had  the  mo- 
nopoly of  the  whole  traffic  to  the  North  ;  that  line  being  "  the  route  "  to 
the  North  of  England  and  to  Scotland.  When  the  Caledonian  was  opened, 
some  years  ago,  the  Northwestern  Railway,  working  in  conjunction  with 
it,  was  able  to  abstract  the  bulk  of  the  Scotch  traffic  from  the  Midland 
line.  Nevertheless,  the  Midland  traffic  continued  to  increase.  At  a  later 
period  the  Great  Northern  was  opened,  affording  almost  a  direct  route  to 
Nottingham,  to  Leeds,  to  York  and  to  Edinburgh.  The  Scotch  traffic  of 
the  Midland  was  thereby  annihilated,  and  its  trade  to  the  large  towns 
named  almost  entirely  abstracted  ;  yet,  with  all  this,  the  Midland  receipts 
continued  to  increase  largely,  chiefly  in  consequence  of  its  local  growth 
and  the  derelopment  of  its  mineral  traffic. 

This  is  one  only  of  the  many  illustrations  that  mis<ht  be  offered  of  the 
rapid  progress  of  a  system  which  is  now  producing  a  gross  annual  revenue 
exceeding  Twenty  Millions  Sterling. 

Looking  at  all  the  circumstances  of  a  railway,  the  nature  of  its  compo- 
nent parts,  and  the  enormous  amount  of  traffic  over  it,  the  constant  depre- 
ciation necessarily  becomes  a  source  of  serious  consideration. 

A  permanent  way  may  be  said  to  consist  of  sleepers,  chairs  and  rails. 
The  rails,  it  has  been  already  stated,  are  30,000  miles  in  length  ;  which, 
at  a  reasonable  average  weight,  will  give  about  2,225,000  tons  of  iron 
laid  down  in  rails  alone  ;  resting  upon  not  less  than  50,000,000  iron  chairs, 
weighing  nearly  750,000  tons.  So  that  you  have,  in  the  whole,  not  less 
than  3,000,000  tons  of  iron  on  the  permanent  ways  of  the  United  Kingdom. 

Estimating  the  waste  of  iron,  from  wear  and  tear,  oxidation  and  loss 
in  remanufacture  at  (say)  half  a  pound  per  yard  annually,  there  cannot 
be  less  than  20,000  tons  of  iron  to  be  every  year  replaced,  and  200,000 
tons  of  rails  to  be  reroUed.  The  sleepers,  of  which  there  are  not  less  than 
26,000,000  on  our  lines  of  railway,  perish  still  more  rapidly.  "What  with 
decay  from  wet  and  other  causes,  the  sleepers  disappear  at  the  rate  of 
2,000,000  per  annum,  at  the  least,  and  require  to  be  wholly  replaced  every 
twelve  or  fourteen  j-ears.  It  is  curious  to  consider  the  effect  of  this  an- 
nual demand  for  sleepers.  To  provide  2,000,000  of  new  sleepers,  300,000 
trees  must  every  year  be  felled,  supposing  that  each  tree  will  yield  as  many 
as  six  good  sleepers.  Now  300,000  trees  can  scarcely  attain  growth  and 
maturity  on  less  than  5,000  acres  of  forest.  Consequently,  5,000  acres  of 
forest  must  be  annually  cleared  of  timber  to  provide  sleepers  for  our  lines 
of  railway. 


488  RAILWAY    SYSTEM   AND   ITS   RESULTS. 

A  very  important  qaestion  presents  itself  as  to  the  mode  of  meeting  this 
heavy  annual  depreciation.  The  practice  of  some  Railway  Companies  has 
been  to  set  aside  a  fund,  to  make  good  the  waste  of  material  in  the  perma- 
nent way.  With  many  Companies  the  amount  which  has  been,  or  which 
ought  to  be  thus  set  aside,  as  a  Renewal  Fund,  has  frequently  occasioned 
great  conflict  of  opinion.  Among  engineers  there  is,  no  doubt,  much  dis- 
cussiou  on  the  details  and  various  bearings  of  the  question.  Perhaps, 
however,  it  may  be  well  to  consider  whether  there  really  is  any  good  argu 
ment  for  a  Renewal  Fund  at  aU. 

When  a  railway  is  first  opened,  everything  being  new,  the  annual  depre- 
ciation will  for  some  time  go  on  in  an  increasing  ratio.  But  it  is  obvious, 
that  there  must  be  a  period  in  the  age  of  the  railway,  when  that  annually- 
increasing  ratio  of  depreciation  must  cease,  and  when  the  sum  rcquii'cd  for 
regular  restoration  and  repair  must  become  fixed  and  (except  under  extra- 
ordinary circumstances)  almost  certain.  This  may  be  illustrated  by  the 
case  of  an  Insui'ance  Company.  Probably  in  the  first  year  of  the  existence 
of  such  a  company  it  sustains  no  loss  by  death,  and  in  the  second  and  third 
years  only  one  or  two  lives  drop.  For  some  succeeding  years  the  losses 
from  this  source  increase  in  an  augmenting  ratio.  But  a  period  arrives, 
when  the  annual  decrement  of  life  becomes  fixed,  and  except  in  the  case  of 
pestilence  or  other  extraordinary  occurrence,  neai-ly  certain.  As  it  is  witli 
humanity,  so  it  is  with  rails  and  sleepers.  The  depreciation,  small  at  fii'st, 
increases  gradually,  until  at  length  it  arrives  at  an  average,  and  becomes 
fixed  and  nearly  certain  every  year.  This  being  so,  why  should  an  exti-a- 
ordinary  special  fund  be  set  aside  to  provide  for  renewals  and  repairs? 
Those  renewals  and  repairs  are,  under  such  circumstances,  as  well  estal>- 
lished  a  charge  as  the  salaries  of  officers  or  the  cost  of  fuel.  If  there  is  to 
be  a  Renewal  Fund,  the  true  principle  would  seem  to  be,  to  set  aside  a  con- 
siderable sum  in  the  earlier  years  of  a  railway,  until  the  period  when  the 
average  is  reached,  after  which  time  the  repairs  should  be  a  regular  charge 
upon  receipts. 

The  argument  by  which  a  Renewal  Fund  is  supported,  is  the  assumed 
desirability  of  equalizing  dividends  ;  but  it  has  been  already  stated,  that 
there  has  never  been  a  case  whei'c  the  gross  annual  receipts  of  a  railway 
have  diminished.  The  growth  of  a  railway  is,  and  must  be,  progressive, 
save  under  very  exceptional  circumstances.  Not  only  does  the  very  exist- 
ence of  a  railway  furnish  excitement  for  trade  and  create  tasle  for  travel, 
but  oui  population  increases  at  the  rate  of  15  per  cent,  in  every  decade, 
which  of  itself  affords  assurance  that,  apart  from  transitory  causes  of  dis- 
turbance, the  trafiBc  of  railways  must  increase.     The  ground  for  a  Renewal 


RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS.  489 

Fund  is  removed  by  these  considerations  ;  and  if  Railway  Companies  would 
only  honestly  and  fairly  keep  their  roads  in  sound  and  substantial  condi- 
tion, the  better  system,  probably,  would  be  to  make  the  annual  costs  of 
repairs  a  charge  on  revenue,  and  to  entirely  dispense  with  such  a  Renewal 
Fund. 

Let  it  be  observed,  that  the  arguments  which  apply  to  the  permanent 
way,  apply  equally  to  the  rolling  stock  of  railways.  Accountants  and 
Committees  of  Investigation  have  been  in  the  habit  of  calling  for  annual 
valuations  of  rolling  stock,  as  if  such  valuations  threw  any  light  upon  the 
real  state  of  the  aflairs  of  a  Company.  The  truth  would  seem  to  be,  that  a 
valuation  of  rolling  stock  is  a  fallacy.  Suppose  a  Railway  Company  com- 
mences with  one  hundred  engines,  costing  £2,500  a  piece,  its  locomotive 
stock  will  be  of  the  value  of  £250,000.  At  starting,  these  one  hundred 
engines  are,  of  course,  in  complete  order ;  but  from  the  day  they  begin 
running,  deterioration  commences.  At  the  end  of  four  or  five  years,  prob- 
ably twenty  or  twenty-five  of  them  are  always  in  the  workshop.  If  the 
traffic  of  a  line  requires  one  hundred  engines  to  do  its  work,  it  is  obvious 
that  the  Company  must  at  that  time  provide  twenty  or  twenty-five  new  en- 
gines, to  supply  the  place  of  those  which  are  undergoing  repairs.  But  having 
done  this,  they  are  only  just  in  the  same  position  as  they  were  in  at  start- 
ing ;  that  is  to  say,  they  have  one  hundred  effective  engines  at  work.  Let 
them  continue  to  keep  this  number  of  engines  in  good  working  order,  as  a 
current  expenditure  for  a  like  amount  of  traffic,  and  it  is  clear  that  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  railway  requires  nothing  more.  As  for  a  money  valuation, 
such  a  proceeding  must  obviously  be  unproductive  of  beneficial  results. 
Not  only  do  engines  depreciate,  like  everything  else,  but  their  price  varies 
■with  the  supply  and  the  demand,  with  invention  and  its  application,  and 
from  many  other  causes.  "Within  the  last  ten  years,  the  market  value  of 
engines  has  fluctuated  about  twenty-five  per  cent.;  so  that  a  railway  which 
had  engines  valued  at  £100,000  in  January,  1850,  might  have  found  those 
same  engines  valued  at  £75,000  in  January,  1851,  even  although  they  had 
not  worked  an  hour.  Or,  to  put  the  case  the  other  way  :  a  stock  valued  at 
£75,000  in  1851,  might  have  been  revalued  at  £100,000  in  1852.  In  either 
case,  it  is  obvious  that,  for  any  practical  purjiose,  the  valuation  must  be 
fallacious,  and  that  to  allow  it  to  affect  the  dividends,  with  M-hich  it  has  no 
concern,  must  be  >vrong  in  principle.  The  truth  would  appear  to  be,  that 
the  only  useful  valuation  is  that  of  the  condition  of  the  engines  for  working 
purposes,  in  order  to  show  the  extent  to  which  they  may  have  deteriorated 
by  working  within  a  given  length  of  time. 

But  it  may  be  urged,  that  this  argument  presupposes  the  same  class  of 


490  RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AIS^D    ITS   RESULTS. 

engines  and  the  same  weight  of  rails  to  be  continued  forever  on  a  railway ; 
whereas,  owing  to  the  demands  of  increasing  traffic,  and  for  high  rates  of 
speed,  heavy  rails  are  obliged  to  be  substituted  for  light,  and  engines  of 
greater  for  those  of  less  power.  The  real  question  then  is,  what  portion  of 
the  cost  of  such  improvements  should  be  charged  to  capital  ?  In  respect  to 
these  improvements  many  fallacies  have  undoubtedly  crept  into  railway 
accounts.  The  only  sound  and  rational  princijDle  seems  to  be,  not  to  charge 
the  whole  sum  to  capital,  but  simply  the  difference.  If,  for  example,  a  rail 
weighing  100  lbs.  per  yard  be  substituted  for  one  weighing  70  lbs.,  the  fair 
proportion  to  charge  the  capital  would  be,  not  the  entire  cost  of  the  100  lbs. 
of  iron,  but  the  cost  of  the  30  lbs.  additional  weight.  The  same  with  the 
engines.  If  an  engine  of  improved  construction  be  purchased  to  replace  a 
less  effective  one,  or  for  the  purposes  of  increased  trafBc,  capital  should  bear 
the  proportion  of  cost  which  is  due  to  its  future  efiSciency,  or  to  the  accom- 
modation of  increased  traffic,  and  that  proportion  only.  It  may  bo  further 
urged,  that  there  are  extraordinary  circumstances  under  which  the  average 
repairs  of  permanent  way  and  works  will  be  disturbed  ;  and,  no  doubt,  in- 
evitable fluctuations  must  occui*  over  which  the  greatest  experience  and 
foresight  cannot  exercise  control.  But  here,  again,  the  question  arises,  is  a 
Renewal  Fund,  in  the  form  it  is  now  made  to  assume,  necessary  to  meet 
such  cases  ?  Surely,  perfect  secui'ity  might  be  attained  with  respect  to  such 
causes  of  disturbance,  by  setting  aside  an  Equalizing  or  Differential  Fund, 
of  small  amount,  whence  the  casual  excess  of  expenditure  required  might 
be  drawn.  Whatever  system  may  be  devised,  by  the  most  skillful  account- 
ant, to  place  this  question  upon  an  unexceptional  basis,  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind,  that  the  feelings  of  shareholders  and  the  opinions  of  directors  will 
%lways  practically  control  the  effect  of  any  such  suggestions.  Influenced, 
♦herefore,  by  the  recollection  of  what  has  so  repeatedly  occurred  in  board 
'ooms  and  at  meetings  of  shareholders,  I  have  amved  at  the  conviction  that 
the  only  sound  policy  will  be  to  adhere  rigidly  to  the  suggestions  here  made 
respecting  Renewal  Funds.  But  whatever  may  be  determined  on  this  point, 
gndoubtedly,  the  only  method  of  keeping  railway  accounts  on  a  proper 
oasis,  must  be  to  make  them  show  whether  the  annual  revenue  is  made  to 
bear  its  fair  charge  of  upholding  the  permanent  way  and  rolling  stock  in 
complete  efficiency  ;  and  it  would  appear  that  this  would  be  most  effectually 
accomplished  when  Renewal  Funds  were  almost  entirely  dispensed  with, 
and  the  charges  for  repairs  and  improvements  were  treated  as  standing 
charges  against  revenue. 

It  may  be  thought  that,  with  respect  to  fares,  the  interests  of  Railway  Com- 
panies and  of  the  public  are  antagonistic.    Regarding  the  question,  how- 


RAILWAr  SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS.  491 

ever,  with  a  more  enlarged  view,  it  will  be  readily  seen  that,  so  far  from 
those  interests  being  opposed,  they  are  iu  all  respects  identical.  Fares 
should  be  regulated  by  dh-ectorates  exclusively  by  a  consideration  of  the 
circumstances  which  produce  the  largest  revenue  to  the  Companies ;  and 
the  circumstances  which  produce  the  largest  revenue,  are  those  which  most 
induce  travelers  to  avail  themselves  of  railway  facilities.  As  regards  the 
public,  it  may  be  easily  shown,  that  nothing  is  so  desirable,  for  theli'  inter- 
ests, as  to  take  advantage  of  all  the  opportunities  afforded  by  railways. 
As  regards  railways,  it  is  certain,  that  nothing  is  so  profitable,  because 
nothing  is  so  cheaply  transported,  as  passenger  traffic.  Goods  traffic,  of 
whatsoever  description,  must  be  more  or  less  costly.  Every  article  con- 
veyed by  railway  requires  handling  and  conveyance  beyond  the  limit  of 
the  railway  station  ;  but  passengers  take  care  of  themselves,  and  find  their 
own  way,  at  then'  own  cost,  from  the  terminus  at  which  they  are  set  down. 
It  is  true,  that  passengers  requu'e  carriages  somewhat  more  expensive  in 
their  construction  than  those  prepared  for  goods  ;  but  this  expense  is  com-, 
pensatcd  for  by  the  cu'cumstance  that  they  are  capable  of  running,  and  do 
run,  a  much  greater  number  of  miles — that  the  weight  of  passengers  is 
small  in  proportion  to  the  weight  of  goods — and  that  consequently  the  cost 
for  locomotive  power  is  less.  It  has  been  shown  that  111,000,000  passen- 
gers, weighing  8,000,000  tons,  have  been  conveyed,  during  the  past  year, 
over  an  average  distance  of  twelve  miles  ;  yielding  a  revenue  of  more  than 
£9,000,000  sterling.  This  gives,  at  the  least,  2s.  per  ton  per  mile  for  the 
weight  of  passengers  conveyed.  Coals  are  conveyed,  in  some  instances,  at 
one  halfpenny  per  ton  per  mile.  It  is  to  be  recollected  thai  trains  are  usu- 
ally capable  of  transporting  at  least  two  or  three  times  the  number  of  pas- 
sengers ordinarily  traveling  by  them,  and  that  the  weight  of  the  passengers, 
in  all  cases,  is  in  extremely  small  proportion  to  the  gross  weight  of  a 
train,  as,  on  an  average,  there  will  be  fourteen  passengers  to  every  ton,  and 
each  train  will  readily  convey  two  hundred  passengers.  The  cost  of  run- 
ning a  train  may  be  assumed,  in  most  cases,  to  be  about  15c?.  per  mile , 
therefore  one  hundred  passengers,  at  five-eighths  of  a  penny  per  mile  pei 
passenger,  would  give  5s.  2Ac7.  per  train  per  mile,  which  may  be  taken  as 
about  the  average  of  train  earnings  throughout  the  year.  It  is  obvious, 
therefore,  that  any  thing  beyond  five-eighths  of  a  penny  per  mile  per  pas- 
^^enger  may  be  rendered  profitable,  even  if  the  passenger  train  is  only  half 
filled.  Hence  all  directorates  should  look  to  the  maximum  amount  of  gross 
revenue  to  be  derived  from  large  passenger  traffic,  which  maximum  amount 
is  only  to  be  obtained  by  affording  enlarged  public  facilities  and  temptations 


492  RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS. 

to  travcL  It  results,  then,  that  the  interests  of  the  public  and  of  the  Com- 
panies are  identical,  and  not  antagonistic. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  this  argument  to  conclude,  that  in  all  eases  fai«8 
should  be  fixed  at  a  minimum  rate.  On  the  contrary,  they  fr^jould  be  regu- 
lated by  local  circumstances  and  considerations  of  public  convenience  and 
facility.  In  London  and  other  parts  of  the  kingdom  where  the  population 
is  dense,  and  where  millions  desire  conveyance  over  short  distances,  say 
of  from  two  to  ten  miles,  low  fares  are  indispensable,  and  wherever  they 
have  been  tried,  have  proved  thoroughly  successful.  As  the  average  rail- 
way fare  throughout  the  kingdom  does  not  exceed  Is.  6(7.  per  passenger,  or 
the  cost  of  conveyance  in  a  first-class  carriage  from  London  to  Wimbledon, 
a  distance  of  seven  miles  and  a  half.  It  will  be  seen  how  preponderating  a 
proportion  of  railway  receipts  arises  entirely  from  local  traffic  ;  that  local 
traffic  can  be  most  completely  developed,  wherever  there  are  centers  of  pub- 
lic attraction  and  interest ;  and  that  whether  to  a  crystal  palace,  or  to  a 
country  fair,  or  market,  a  low  fare  for  a  short  distance,  on  the  return-ticket 
principle,  or  otherwise,  is  sure  to  pay.  It  is  the  lowness  of  price,  in  these 
cases,  which  is  the  real  temptation  to  the  population,  and  the  fare  should 
be  regulated  by  that  consideration.  But  there  are  other  cases  in  which  the 
lowness  of  price  will  not  be  the  consideration.  In  a  journey,  for  instance, 
from  London  to  Edinburgh,  or  to  Aberdeen,  the  amount  of  time  consumed 
is  necessarily  so  large,  that,  however  low  the  fare,  the  great  bulk  of  the 
public  could  not  abandon  other  avocations  for  a  sufficient  interval  to  under- 
take the  iourney.  No  mere  inducement  of  low  fare,  therefore,  would  be 
likely  greatly  to  increase  the  traffic  on  so  long  a  route.  The  public  who 
have  to  perform  so  long  a  journey,  want,  in  such  cases,  high  rates  of  speed, 
together  with  those  increased  comforts  and  conveniences  which  are  the  more 
needed  by  travelers  in  proportion  to  the  length  of  their  journey.  Provided 
these  are  afforded,  liberal  fares  may  be  demanded  from  the  public  for  these 
longer  routes.  And  from  this  argument  it  may  be  deduced,  that  an  invari- 
able policy  of  either  high  or  low  fares  is  equally  vicious,  if  applied  to  all 
cases  ;  that  every  case  ought  to  be  treated  upon  consideration  of  its  local 
circumstances ;  and  that  a  system  which,  under  one  condition  of  things 
would  be  fatal,  may,  under  another  state  of  circumstances,  be  developed 
with  success. 

The  facilities  afforded  by  railways  to  the  post-office  are,  no  doubt,  of  the 
highest  public  consequence.  The  speed  which  is  attained  in  the  transmission 
would  appear  at  first  to  be  the  greatest  item  in  the  catalogue  of  those  facil- 
ities ;  but  it  may  be  doubted  if  it  is  the  most  important.  WTiat  is  really 
of  the  greatest  value  to  the  post-office,  is  the  facility  afibrded  for  conveying 


RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS   RESULTS.  493 

bulk.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that,  without  railway  facilities,  the  excel- 
lent plans  of  Mr.  Rowland  Hill,  for  the  reduction  of  the  rates  of  postage, 
could  not  have  been  carried  out  to  their  full  extent.  The  first  essential  to 
the  success  of  those  plans  would  have  been  wanting  ;  for  there  would  have 
been  no  sufficient  means  of  conveying  the  greatly  increased  mass  of  corres- 
pondence necessary  to  be  carried,  in  order  to  render  the  reduced  rates  of 
postage  profitable.  The  old  mail  coaches  were  never  planned  for  bulk, 
which  would,  indeed,  have  been  fatal  to  that  regularity  and  speed  upon 
which  the  post-office  could  alone  rely,  as  the  means  of  securing  to  the  gov- 
ernment the  monopoly  of  the  letter-carriage  of  the  nation.  The  aggregate 
weight  of  the  evening  mails  dispatched  from  London  in  1838,  in  twenty- 
eight  mail-coaches,  amounted,  as  was  shown  by  the  Report  of  the  Select 
Committee  on  Postage,  to  only  four  tons  six  cwt.,  or  an  average  of  about 
thi"ee  and  one-fourth  cwt.  per  coach.  But  now,  on  a  Friday  night,  when  so 
many  thousands  of  weekly  papers  are  sent  into  the  country,  the  post-office 
requires,  on  the  London  and  Northwestern  Railway,  not  only  the  use  of  the 
traveling  post-office,  which  is  provided  for  its  convenience,  but  it  occupies 
also  six  or  eight  additional  vans.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  if  the  exist- 
ing system  of  the  post-office  had  been  in  operation,  with  the  present  results, 
in  the  days  of  mail-coach  communication,  not  one  mail  alone,  but  fourteen 
or  fifteen  mails,  such  as  were  used  in  those  days,  would  have  been  needed 
to  carry  on,  with  regularity,  the  post-office  traffic  between  (say)  London  and 
Birmingham.  Nearly  every  coach  that  ran  in  1830,  between  Birmingham 
and  London,  would  now  have  been  needed  for  post-office  purposes,  if  the 
London  and  Northwestern  Railway  had  not  been  brought  into  existence. 
The  expenses  would,  consequently,  have  been  so  large,  that  a  universal 
penny  postage  would  have  entailed  a  certain  loss.  For  the  great  blessing, 
therefore,  derived  from  -cheap  postal  communication,  the  nation  is,  in  a 
great  degree,  indebted  to  the  facilities  offered  by  railways. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  here,  that  the  boon  conferred  upon  the  public  is 
not  limited  to  written  correspondence.  Viewed  in  reference  to  the  postal 
facilities  they  afford,  the  railways  are  the  great  public  instructors  and  edu- 
cators of  the  day.  Contrast  the  size  of  "The  Times"  in  1830  and  185C. 
Do  you  suppose  that  the  huge  mass  of  paper,  which  you  are  permitted  to 
forward  by  to-night's  post,  would  have  been  conveyed  upon  the  same  terms, 
if  the  means  of  conveyance  had  remained  limited  to  the  mail  and  its  four 
horses  ?  Look  at  the  immense  mass  of  Parliamentary  reports  and  docu- 
ments, now  distributed  every  session  amongst  all  the  constituencies  of  the 
empire,  at  almost  a  nominal  charge.  To  what  do  the  public  owe  the  valua- 
ble information  embodied  in  those  documents,  but  to  railways?    Kxcept  aa 


494  RAILWAY   SYSTEM   AND   ITS   RESULTS. 

parcels  by  wagons,  or  by  canal  boats,  they  never  could  have  been  conveyed, 
prior  to  the  existence  of  the  railway  system  ;  and  if  they  never  could  have 
been  distributed,  we  may  rely  upon  it  that  they  never  would  have  been 
printed.  The  reasoning  which  applies  to  "  The  Times  "  and  to  State  papers, 
applies  to  newspapers  generally,  and  to  the  distribution  of  the  Prices  Cur- 
rent of  merchants,  and  of  magazines,  monthly  publications,  and  bulky  par- 
cels of  every  description.  Without  railway  facilities  they  would  probably 
never  have  been  circulated  at  all — certainly  they  never  could  have  been 
circulated  to  the  extent  necessary  to  make  them  profitable.  Hence,  the 
railway,  as  before  observed,  is  the  great  engine  for  the  diffusion  of  knowl- 
edge. 

Bearing  these  things  in  mind,  it  is  obviously  the  duty  of  the  government 
and  of  the  Legislature  to  deal  with  railways  upon  an  enlarged  and  liberal 
basis,  in  respect  to  all  matters  relating  to  postal  communication.  It  is,  no 
doubt,  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  public,  that  the  advantages  railways 
are  capable  of  affording  to  the  post-ofiBce  should  be  secured.  Looking  to 
the  public  interest,  it  is  diflBcult,  if  not  altogether  impossible,  to  contend 
against  any  act  of  Parliament  that  peremptorily  insists  upon  postal  facili- 
ties being  afforded,  to  the  full  extent  they  may  be  required  for  the  public 
interest.  At  the  same  time  whilst  we  may  admit  that  railways  have  a  duty 
to  i^erform  to  the  nation,  in  facilitating  postal  communication,  it  is  clear 
that  the  peculiar  and  extraordinary  advantages  they  afford  in  that  respect, 
entitle  them  to  a  large  share  of  consideration  and  to  very  liberal  compensa- 
tion for  the  work  which  they  perform.  It  does  not,  however,  altogether 
appear  that  the  Companies  have,  hitherto,  always  been  met  by  the  post- 
oflSce  in  the  way  in  which  they  conceive  themselves  entitled  to  be  treated. 
No  fault,  on  this  account,  attaches  to  the  post-ofBce  officials,  who  execute 
their  arduous  and  important  labors  with  very  commendable  zeal  and  with 
all  possible  courtesy  ;  but  the  system  of  the  government  has  been  to  require 
heavy  service,  and  to  allow  the  Companies  little  or  no  profit  for  its  perform- 
ance. A  rent  is  paid,  amounting  to  a  fair  rate  of  interest  upon  cost,  for 
the  carriages  and  vans  which  are  employed  upon  a  line  ;  with,  in  addition, 
the  exact  amount  of  haulage  and  other  special  current  expenses,  which  can 
be  proved  to  be  entailed  by  the  conveyance  of  the  mails  ;  but  should  it 
chance,  that  upon  any  line  the  ordinary  trains  do  not  suit  post-office  purpo- 
ses, the  Companies  may  be  compelled  to  put  on  trains  at  suitable  hours  for 
the  mails,  for  which,  ordinarily,  very  little  remuneration  is  allowed,  beyond 
the  absolute  outlay  which  the  runrung  of  such  trains  can  be  proved  to  have 
entailed. 

The  effect  of  this  must  naturally  be  to  make  Railway  Companies  indlf- 


RAILWAY   SYSTEM   AND   ITS   RESULTS.  495 

ferent  to  postal  traffic.  It  is  needless  to  point  out  bow  seriously  tliis  must 
be  to  the  public  disadvantage.  If  Railway  Companies  had  an  interest  in 
developing  postal  as  well  as  passenger  communication,  what  facilities  might 
not  be  afforded  to  the  people  !  It  is  beginning  to  be  found,  from  the  gi-eat 
bulk  of  correspondence  requiring  delivery,  especially  in  London,  that  un- 
certainty, irregularity  and  delay,  are"  becoming  more  and  more  frequent  at 
the  post-office.  If  Railway  Companies  were  interested  in  postal  intercourse, 
nothing  would  be  easier  for  them  than  to  make  arrangements,  whereby  the 
deliveries,  being  rendered  much  more  frequent,  might  entail  much  less 
duty  at  one  given  hour.  Increased  rapidity,  certainty  and  regularity,  would 
be  thereby  obtained  ;  advantages  which,  with  the  means  now  at  the  dispo- 
sal of  the  post-office,  and  with  its  vastly  and  rapidly  increasing  business, 
there  seems  but  little  prospect  of  the  government  alone  being  able  to 
secm-e. 

The  post-office  has  recently  absolutely  entered  into  competition  with  the 
Railway  Companies.  As  carriers,  the  Companies  derived  considerable 
profit  from  parcels.  The  post-office,  finding  that  railways  afibrd  the  means 
of  carrying  any  quantity  of  bulk,  has  seen  fit  to  undertake  the  conveyance 
of  books  and  other  parcels  at  very  reduced  postal  rates.  If  the  post-office 
should  extend  its  operations  a  little  further,  it  must  be  brought  into  abso- 
lute antagonism  with  the  Companies.  Books  are  heavier  articles  than  laces 
or  muslins,  or  many  other  fabrics,  the  conveyance  of  which  enter  largely 
into  railway  receipts.  The  post-office  having  made  book  parcels  profitable, 
may  try  to  turn  to  account  the  conveyance  of  other,  whether  lighter  or 
heavier,  articles  of  trade.  It  might  be  thought  advisable  to  carry  a  small 
valuable  parcel  to  Aberdeen  for  2c?.,  a  rate  at  which  railway  Companies, 
having  to  pay  interest  on  capital,  certainly  cannot  hope  to  compete  with  a 
department  which  insists  on  the  right  of  traveling  on  their  roads  at  the 
mere  actual  cost.  You  will  not,  therefore,  tail  to  see,  that  the  post-office 
an-angements  may  be  carried  to  a  point  at  which  gi-eat  injustice  would  be 
done  to  Railway  Companies. 

Little  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  elapsed,  since  Parliament 
first  began  to  legislate  for  railways.  In  that  period  a  multitude  of  laws 
have  been  placed  upon  the  statute-book,  which  will  certainly  excite  the  won- 
der, if  they  fail  to  be  the  admiration,  of  future  generations.  The  London 
and  Northwestern  Railway  alone  is  regulated,  as  is  shown  by  a  return  of 
Mr.  Hadfield's,  by  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  different  acts  ! 
Of  these  the  greater  part  were  passed  in  the  present  reign. 

But  it  is  not  so  much  the  number  of  the  statutes  regarding  railways,  that 
excites  surprise.    The  extraordinary  feature  of  the  parliamentary  legisla- 


496  RAILWAY   SYSTEM   AND   ITS   RESULTS. 

tioa  and  practice  consists  id  tlie  anomalies,  incongruities,  irreconcilabilities, 
and  absurdities,  which  pervade  this  mass  of  legislation.  A  commission  waa 
appointed  a  few  years  since  for  the  consolidation  of  the  statute  law.  If 
ever  that  commission  should  have  to  deal  with  railway  law  it  will  indeed 
find  itself  in  a  dilemma.  It  will  find,  that  the  legislation  for  railways,  both 
in  principle  and  in  detail,  is  uttei'ly  iiTeconcilable  ;  and  that  the  only  way 
of  escaping  the  diflficulties  of  the  position  would  be  to  sweep  the  whole 
from  the  statute-book  and  legislate  afresh. 

Not  only  is  the  legislation  iiTeconcilable,  but  throughout  the  quarter  of  a 
century  during  which  attention  has  been  given  to  this  branch  of  legislation, 
the  acts  of  the  Parliament  have  been  wholly  at  variance  with  its  own  prin- 
ciples. To  illustrate  this  :  Several  different  select  committees  have,  at 
various  times,  deliberately  reported  against  the  possibility  of  maintaining 
competition  between  railways,  and  to  this  principle  Parliament  has  as  often 
assented.  Y'et  the  practical  operation  of  the  laws,  which  have  received 
legislative  sanction,  has  been  throughout  and  at  the  same  time  directly  to 
negative  this  principle,  by  almost  invariably  allowing  competition  to  be  ob- 
tained, wherever  it  has  been  sought !  Parliament,  therefore,  has  been 
adding  to  the  capital  of  Railway  Companies,  whilst  it  has  been  sanctioning 
measures  to  subdivide  the  traffic.  The  decline  of  dividends  was  an  inevit- 
able consequence. 

Again,  in  1836,  the  House  of  Commons  required  its  Committees  upon 
Railway  Bills  specially  to  report  as  to  the  probability  of  railways  paying. 
This  principle  has,  however,  been  gradually  departed  from,  until  such  in- 
quuy  is  now  considered  and  treated  as  utterly  unimportant.  Legislative 
sanction  having  been  given  to  a  line,  it  might  be  supposed  that  Parliament 
would  also  grant  adequate  protection,  exacting  from  the  railway  certain 
public  facilities  and  advantages,  in  return  for  the  rights  afforded  to  it.  But, 
instead  of  doing  this,  the  practice  has  been  precisely  the  reverse.  Whilsi 
(be  legislature  and  the  government  have  exacted  facilities  and  advantages 
even  beyond  what  they  had  a  fair  right  to  demand,  so  far  from  protecting 
the  interests  of  those  to  whom  they  conceded  the  right  of  making  the  line, 
they  have  allowed — nay,  they  have  encouraged — every  description  of  com- 
petition !  "What  has  been  the  result  ?  As  regards  the  completeness  and 
perfectness  of  the  line  first  made,  obviously  it  must  have  been  most  injuri- 
ous ;  as  regards  the  profits  of  shareholders,  no  doubt,  it  has  been,  in  many 
cases,  most  disastrous.  But  how  does  the  case  stand  as  regards  the  public  ? 
Why,  whatever  may  have  been  the  effect  for  the  time,  the  competition, 
which  Parliament  has  permitted,  has  invariably  been  terminated  by  combi 
nation — so  that  the  public  have  been  left  precisely  where  they  were. 


RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS.  497 

Bat  the  incongruities  are  by  no  means  the  worst  feature  of  the  parlia- 
mentary legislation  now  under  consideration.  Mr.  Iladfield's  return  has 
been  spoken  of.  That  return,  in  itself  exceedingly  incomplete,  and  afford- 
ing no  information  of  any  sort  respecting  forty-five  Railway  Companies, 
for  which  acts  have  been  obtained,  shows  that  the  amount  expended  by 
existing  Railway  Companies,  in  obtaining  the  Acts  of  Parliament  by 
which  they  are  empowered,  has  been  no  less,  in  parliamentary,  legal,  and 
engineering  costs,  than  Fourteen  Millions  sterling!  No  sooner  was  that 
fact  placed  on  record,  than  a  universal  outcry  burst  from  the  alarmists. 
'•See,'"'  it  was  said,  " how  shareholders  have  been  plundered;  see  how 
their  money  has  been  squandered  ;  look  at  this  vast  amount  of  waste,  and 
consider  how  much  better  it  would  have  been  in  your  own  pockets!" 
But,  in  no  one  case  did  those  who  made  these  bitter  comments  attribute 
the  monstrous  result  to  the  proper  cause.  Railway  directors  and  officials 
have  been  held  responsible  for  what  has  been  the  fault,  solely  and  exclu- 
sively, of  Parliament  itself.  What  interest  can  directors  and  officers  have 
in  Group  Committees,  wherein  counsel  must  be  feed  for  attendance  during, 
perhaps,  ten  or  twenty  days,  when  they  are  never  heard  nor  wanted? 
What  interest  can  directors  or  officers  have  in  keeping  crowds  of  witnesses 
in  London,  at  great  expense,  awaiting  the  pleasure  of  a  Committee,  which 
is  engaged  upon  another  measure,  and  which  can  rarely  foresee  or  indi- 
cate when  those  witnesses  will  be  required  ?  The  ingenuity  of  man  could 
scarcely  devise  a  system  more  costly,  than  that  of  getting  a  Railway  Bill 
through  the  legislature.  But  who  devised  that  system?  Parliament  itself. 
Who  have  begged,  and  prayed,  and  implored  for  alteration  unavailingly  ? 
Directors  and  officers  of  Companies.  An  illustration  may  show  more 
graphically  how  Parliament  has  entailed  expense  upon  Railway  Compa- 
nies, by  the  system  it  has  set  up.  Here  is  a  striking  one.  The  Ti'eut 
Valley  Railway  was,  under  other  titles,  originally  proposed  in  the  year 
1836.  It  Mas,  however,  thrown  out  by  the  Standing  Orders  Committee, 
in  consequence  of  a  barn,  of  the  value  of  about  £10,  which  was  shown 
upon  the  general  plan,  not  having  been  exhibited  upon  an  enlarged  sheet. 
In  1840  the  line  again  went  before  Parliament.  It  was  proposed  by  the 
Grand  Junction  Railway  (now  part  of  the  Northwestern).  No  less  than 
four  hundred  and  fifty  allegations  were  made  against  it  before  the  Stand- 
ing Orders  sub-Committee.  That  sub-Committee  was  engaged  twenty-two 
days  in  considering  those  objections  ;  they  ultimately  reported  that  four 
or  five  of  the  allegations  were  proved  ;  but  the  Standing  Orders  Commit- 
tee, nevertheless,  allowed  the  bill  to  be  proceeded  with.  Upon  the  second 
reading  it  was  supported  by  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  had  a  large  majority  in 

32 


498  RAILWAY   SYSTEM    AND    ITS   RESULTS. 

its  favor.  It  thea  went  into  Committee.  The  Committee  took  sixty-three 
days  to  consider  it,  and  ultimately  Parliament  was  prorogued,  before  the 
Report  could  be  made.  Such  were  the  delays  and  consequent  expenses 
which  the  forms  of  the  House  occasioned  in  this  case,  that  it  may  be 
doubted  if  the  ultimate  cost  of  constructing  the  whole  line  was  very  mu^h 
more  than  the  amount  expended  in  obtaining  permission  from  Parliament 
to  make  it. 

This  example  will  show  the  delays  and  difficulties  with  which  Parlia- 
ment surrounds  railway  legislation.  Another  instance  will  illustrate  the 
tendency  of  its  proceedings  to  encourage  competition.  In  1815  a  bill  for 
a  line  now  existing  went  before  Parliament  with  no  less  than  eighteen 
competitors,  each  party  relying  on  the  wisdom  of  Parliament  to  allow 
their  bill  at  least  to  pass  a  second  reading !  Judged  by  such  a  case,  the 
policy  of  Parliament  really  would  seem  to  be  to  put  the  public  to  expense, 
and  to  make  costs  for  lawyers,  and  fees  for  ofiBcers.  Is  it  possible  to 
conceive  any  thing  more  monstrous,  than  to  condemn  nineteen  different 
parties  to  one  scene  of  contentious  litigation?  Bear  in  mind  that  every 
additional  bill  received  by  Parliament  entailed  additional  expense,  not 
only  on  the  promoters  of  that  one  bill,  but  on  all  the  other  eighteen  com- 
petitors. They  each  and  all  had  to  bear  the  costs,  not  of  parliamentary 
proceedings  upon  one  bill,  but  of  the  parliamentary  proceedings  upon 
nineteen  bills.  They  had  to  pay  not  only  the  costs  of  promoting  their 
own  line,  but  also  the  costs  of  oj^posing  eighteen  other  lines !  And  yet, 
conscious  as  Government  must  have  been  of  this  fact.  Parliament  deliber- 
ately abandoned  the  only  step  it  ever  took,  on  any  occasion,  of  subjecting 
railway  projects  to  Investigation  by  a  preliminary  tribunal. 

Railways  have  suffered  by  parliamentary  legislation  from  other  causes. 
Daring  every  one  of  the  twenty-five  years  that  Parliament  has  legislated 
on  the  subject,  it  has  always  had  a  crotchet.  One  of  these  will  be  remem- 
bered by  every  civil  engineer  under  the  name  of  the  "  Datum  point,"' 
which,  for  many  years,  offered  a  fatal  objoction  to  scores  of  projects. 
Perhaps  some  of  the  best  proposals  ever  made  for  the  bcnelit  of  the  public 
fell  through,  because  Parliament  insisted  on  Its  '•  Datum  point."  Y'et 
there  is  not  an  engineer  in  the  kingdom  who  does  not  laugh  at  the  idea. 
The  "  Datum  point"  is  the  crotchet  of  some  theoretical  red-tapist.  Every 
practical  man  knows  that  it  is  not  of  the  ."slightest  real  value  In  checking 
levels,  or  for  any  other  practical  purpose.  The  consequence  of  these 
crotchets  is,  tliat  the  Standing  Orders  are  loaded  with  a  number  of  useless 
forms  which  are  not  now  rigidly  enforced  :  aud  recording,  as  they  do,  the 


RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS.  499 

exploded  crotchets  of  the  House  of  Commons,  they  are  become  almost  a 
nullity,  except  in  so  far  as  they  occasionally  involve  expense  or  trouble. 

But  having  passed  a  bill,  how  does  Parliament  treat  the  railway  on 
which  it  has  conferred  powers?  In  the  first  place,  it  affords  extraordinary 
facilities  to  land  owners  to  make  extraordinary  demands  for  compensation. 
Having  given  them  these  facilities,  it  then  makes  the  legal  steps  by  which 
such  demands  can  be  resisted  so  expensive,  that,  in  a  money  point  of  view, 
it  is  frequently  difficult  to  decide  whether,  if  all  the  desired  reduction  can 
be  made,  the  cost  of  obtaining  the  saving  will  not  exceed  the  whole 
amount  that  can  be  saved.  This  is  so  well  understood,  that  acute  survey- 
ors and  solicitors,  after  making  fair  estimates  of  value,  always  add  an 
amount  to  their  estimate,  for  charges  which  may  be  entailed  by  resisting 
claims. 

Of  the  £286,000,000  of  railway  capital  expended,  it  is  believed  that 
nearly  one-fourth  has  been  paid  solely  for  land  and  conveyancing ;  and 
yet  it  is  well  known  that,  except  in  regard  to  the  houses  which  have  been 
actually  demolished,  nearly  every  piece  of  property  which  is  intersected, 
undergoes  improvement  in  value,  in  consequence  of  the  construction  of 
the  lines.  In  towns  and  villages,  the  land  abutting  on  the  railway  becomes 
frontage  ;  and  even  in  the  country,  land  near  stations  becomes  available 
for  building  purposes.  The  millions  which  have  been  paid  by  Railway 
Companies  to  land  owners  for  their  property,  may  therefore  be  said  to  be 
so  much  absolutely  put  into  their  pockets.  Considering,  in  addition  to 
this  profit  upon  the  land  taken,  the  increased  value  of  the  land  left,  it  is 
clear  that  the  gain  to  the  land  owners  by  railways  must,  in  the  aggregate, 
have  been  enormous. 

Now  here  again  the  one-sided  character  of  parliamentary  legislation  is 
exhibited.  Parliament  has  never,  on  any  occasion,  permitted  improvement 
to  be  considered  as  an  element  in  favor  of  a  railway  ;  but  it  has  always 
been  ready  to  tax  the  Railway  Company,  on  account  of  possible  deprecia- 
tion. The  extent  to  which  claims  on  account  of  depreciation  have  been 
carried,  is  well  known.  Great  was  the  ingenuity  of  the  agent  who  discov- 
ered the  use  of  the  word  "severance."  To  Railway  Companies  constant 
repetition  has  made  that  term  but  too  familiar.  In  every  case  in  which  the 
line  passes  through  an  estate,  a  claim  is  set  up  for  compensation,  on  account 
of  "  severance  ;"  which  means  simply,  that  the  property  having  previously 
been  in  what  is  called  a  ring-fence,  it  becomes,  by  the  passage  of  a  railway 
through  it,  less  convenient  for  purposes  of  cultivation.  Let  it  be  observed, 
that  the  depreciation  upon  which  this  claim  is  based,  is  ordinarily  imaginary 
and  ideal.     It  is  utterly  untrue,  that  an  estate  is  necessarily  rendered  less 


500  RAILWAY    SYSTEM   AND    ITS    RESULTS. 

convenient  for  cultivation,  by  the  passage  through  it  of  a  railway  ;  indeed, 
in  the  majority  of  cases,  it  is  capable  of  proof  that  the  result  is  the  reverse. 
The  Railway  Companies  are  therefore  mulcted  for  an  idea.  No  agent  has 
yet  been  able  to  reduce  to  figures  the  practical  value  of  this  alleged  incon- 
venience. Care  is  always  taken  that  a  railway  shall  supply  facilities  of 
communication  ;  and  when  bridges  and  crossings  are  constructed,  severance 
ceases  in  reality  to  exist.  No  one  has  ever  been  able  to  show,  arithmetic- 
ally, that,  by  the  mere  passage  of  a  railway  through  an  estate,  loss  is  sus- 
tained ;  yet  the  practical  result  of  the  legislation  of  Parliament  is  this,  that 
whereas  a  railway  takes  land  from  a  laud  owner  of  the  value  of  some  £500 
or  £600,  a  claim  for  severance  is  often  made  and  allowed  to  the  extent  of 
nearly  as  many  thousands.  Agents  of  the  highest  respectability  make  the 
claim,  on  the  ground  that  it  is  customary,  admitting  that  there  is  no  substan- 
tial reason  whatever  for  it.  In  one  recent  case,  a  claim  for  compensation 
for  severance  was  made  by  the  owner  of  some  marsh  laud  in  Essex,  whose 
whole  estate  was  taken  by  a  Company,  but  who  claimed  for  "  severance," 
on  the  ground  that  the  loss  of  his  marsh  land  on  the  Thames  was  injurious 
to  an  arable  farm  which  he  possessed  many  miles  distant !  This  illustration 
will  show  the  extent  to  which  this  doctrine  is  carried,  and  how  this  system 
of  spoliation,  permitted  by  Parliament,  has  become  legalized  by  custom. 

It  may  be  asked.  What  is  the  proper  remedy  for  the  state  of  things  which 
has  been  thus  described  ?  The  remedy  which  has  suggested  itself  to  some 
practical  minds,  is  one  which,  it  is  to  be  feared,  the  government  of  our  day 
is  unlikely  to  grant.  K,  instead  of  leaving  the  decision  of  these  subjects  to 
inexperienced  tribunals,  a  mixed  commission  could  be  organized,  of  prac- 
tical men,  of  acknowledged  legal,  commercial,  and  mechanical  ability,  there 
might  be  hope  for  us.  What  we  want  is  a  tribunal  upon  these  subjects 
competent  to  judge,  and  willing  to  devote  its  attention  to  railway  subjects 
only.  We  do  not  impute  to  Parliament  that  it  is  dishonest ;  but  we  impute 
that  it  is  incompetent.  Neither  its  practical  experience,  nor  its  time,  nor 
its  system  of  procedure,  are  adapted  for  railway  legislation.  Both  Houses, 
indeed,  admit  their  incompetency,  by  referring  the  consideration  of  every 
question  to  Select  Committees.  But  go  into  a  Select  Committee,  and 
observe  how  it  is  composed.  Observe  the  list  of  subjects  committed  to  it 
for  investigation— including,  as  it  does,  not  only  railway  bills,  but  gas  bills, 
water  bills,  canal  bills,  navigation  bills,  drainage  bills,  and  burial  bills 
It  is  most  unnatural  to  suppose  that  such  tribunals  can  be  satisfactory  to 
those  who  have  embarked  hundreds  of  millions  of  money  in  the  greatest 
enterprises  of  the  age. 

What  we  ask  is  knowledge.     '■  Give  us,"  we  say,  "  a  tribunal  competent 


RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS.  501 

to  form  a  sound  opinion.  Commit  to  that  tribunal,  with  any  rcBtrictions 
you  think  necessary,  the  whole  of  the  great  questions  appertaining  to  our 
system.  Let  it  protect  private  interests  apart  from  railways  ;  let  it  judge 
of  the  desirability  of  all  initiatory  measures,  of  all  proposals  for  pm-chases, 
amalgamations,  or  other  railway  arrangements :  delegate  to  it  the  power 
of  enforcing  such  regulations  and  restrictions  as  may  be  thought  needful  to 
secure  the  rights  of  private  persons,  or  of  the  public ;  devolve  on  it  the 
duty  of  consolidating,  if  possible,  the  Railway  Laws,  and  of  making  such 
amendments  therein  as  the  public  interests,  and  the  property  now  depend- 
ing upon  the  system,  may  require  ;  give  it  full  delegated  authority  over  us 
in  an}^  way  you  please  ;  all  wo  ask  is,  that  it  shall  be  a  tribunal  that  is 
impartial,  and  that  is  thoroughly  informed ;  and  if  impartiality  and  intel- 
ligence are  secured,  we  do  not  fear  for  the  result." 

It  is  to  be  apprehended  that  there  is  no  probability  of  a  government  of 
routine,  such  as  wo  have  in  England,  conceding  this,  or  any  other  departure 
from  their  system,  however  badly  that  system  may  be  found  to  work.  If  a 
concession  were  made  in  any  form,  it  is  to  be  still  further  apprehended,  that 
neither  in  the  selection  of  the  persons  presumed  to  be  competent  for  the 
fulfillment  of  such  functions,  nor  in  the  remuneration  the  government 
would  consent  to  award  to  them,  would  there  be  adequate  security  for  the 
proper  fulfillment  of  the  high  duties  which  they  would  have  to  perform. 
But  it  is  not  too  much  to  insist  that,  in  some  shape  or  other,  a  new  tribunal 
of  this  sort  must  be  created,  if  the  railway  system  of  England  is  to  work 
with  advantage  to  those  who  have  undertaken  its  development,  without 
risk  to  the  public,  and  without  prospect  of  further  legislative  interference 
to  its  disadvantage. 

From  the  very  circumstances  of  the  position  in  which  they  are  placed  by 
Parliament,  Railway  Managements  are,  and  must  be,  anomalous  in  their 
character.  Parliament  has  legislated  for  railways  simply  as  public  high- 
ways, to  be  passed  over  by  the  whole  world,  upon  payment  of  a  certain 
toll.  It  has  placed  managements,  therefore,  in  the  position  of  mere  toll- 
takers  ;  and  mere  toll-takers  they  would  be,  if  the  practical  and  actual 
necessities  of  their  system  did  not  compel  them  to  become  traders  and  car- 
riers— to  distribute  goods,  and  to  possess  wagons,  horses,  and  warehouses, 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  their  traffic. 

Every  energetic  railway  direction,  controlled  by  men  of  business,  em- 
barks in  enteqiriscs  which  are,  apparently,  wholly  foreign  to  the  parlia- 
mentary objects  of  the  railway  itself  But  then,  unfortunately  for  all 
parties,  this  very  necessity  of  doing  an  act,  in  itself  irreconcilable  with  th» 
intention  of  Parliament,  produces  serious  dilemmas.    So  long  as  dividends 


502  RAILWAY   SYSTEM   AND   ITS   RESULTS. 

are  kept  up,  a  directorate,  however  illegal  may  be  its  acts,  or  however 
inefficient  its  management,  is  certain  to  enjoy,  with  its  shareholders,  the 
highest  meed  of  popularity ;  but  only  let  the  dividends  fall,  and  however 
wise,  however  energetic,  however  prudent  may  have  been  the  direction,  it 
is  immediately  found  that  it  has  exceeded  the  limits  of  the  duty  devolved 
upon  it  by  the  Acts  of  Parliament ;  that  it  has  embarked  the  Company  in 
rash  and  unwise  speculations ;  and  that  its  members,  collectively  and  in- 
dividually, deserve  to  be  impeached.  Even  one-half  per  cent,  has  been 
known  to  make  all  the  difference  in  the  popularity  of  the  management. 
Let  that  popularity  fall,  and  Committees  of  Investigation  are  forthwith 
appointed,  charges  are  raked  up  and  bandied  about,  affecting  the  character 
of  the  individuals  who  have  got  into  disfavor,  no  matter  how  high  those 
individuals  may  be  in  station,  how  honorable  they  may  be  known  to  be  in 
principle,  or  how  much  soever  their  direction  may  have  been  hitherto 
advantageous  to  the  Company.  And,  as  it  is  with  shareholders,  so  it  is 
with  the  public.  Local  circumstances  necessitate  some  alteration  in  the 
times  of  a  train,  or  the  rates  of  fares.  The  convenience,  or  the  caprice,  or 
the  pocket  of  some  contentious  individual  is  thereby  interfered  with. 
Rejoicing  that  he  has  a  grievance  —  in  the  phraseology  of  the  day  ^  he 
"  writes  to  the  Times."'  The  press,  necessarily  ill-informed  as  to  the  actual 
facts,  receives,  as  correct,  the  ex  parte  statement.  Leading  articles  depict, 
in  powerful  language,  the  errors  and  abuses  of  management.  Columns 
are  filled  with  letters  from  all  who  have  a  petty  grievance  to  complain  of, 
or  a  private  pique  to  gi'atify  ;  and  Companies  are  instructed  as  to  all  the 
minutiae  of  management,  by  those  who,  except  as  travelers,  are  probably 
wholly  uninformed  as  to  railway  affairs.  The  consequence  of  all  this  is, 
great  injustice,  and  frequently  great  injury,  to  the  Railway  Companies  ; 
for  no  directorate  feels  itself  safe,  at  least  as  to  character,  that  does  not 
restrict  itself  within  the  closest  interpretation  of  the  law,  and  that  does 
not  make  concessions  to  the,  presumed,  public  demands ;  but,  in  so  doing, 
the  certain  result  is,  that  the  interests  of  the  Company  are  lost  sight  of. 

The  period  has  arrived  when  these  things,  pressing  heavily  upon  the 
mos4,  enlightened  and  enterprising  railway  managers,  have  caused  serious 
reflections  as  to  the  way  in  which  such  difficulties  are  to  be  avoided. 
Many  right-minded  shareholders,  also,  feeling  the  force  of  the  errors  which 
are  too  often  committed  to  their  detriment,  have  attentively  considered  in 
what  way  the  present  system  of  management  may  be  altered,  so  as  to 
avoid  these  evils.  Various  suggestions  have  been  made,  some  of  which, 
undoubtedly,  seem  only  calculated  to  increase  the  difficulty  ;  whilst  others 
in  no  degree  alleviate  it.    Looking  at  the  question  in  a  broad  point  of 


RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS.  503 

view,  the  consideration  occurs,  whether  it  might  not  be  possible,  by  some 
operation  analogous  to  that  of  a  trading  company  under  the  Limited  Lia- 
bility Act,  to  give  an  entirely  new  and  greatly  improved  character  to  the 
relations  between  shareholders  and  managers.  Suppose  a  limited  number 
of  men  of  business,  varying,  say,  from  ten  to  twenty,  and  capable  of  giving 
good  security,  agreed  together  to  take  a  line  from  the  shareholders,  at  a 
fixed  rental.  They  might  depute  their  management  to  two  or  three  of 
their  own  body  ;  or,  even  if  the  line  was  short,  to  one  ge'rant.  Under  such 
circumstances,  there  would  be  no  clamor  from  shareholders  at  half-yearly 
meetings — no  sudden  changes  of  directorates,  involving  ruinous  alterations 
of  policy— no  cabals  between  one  set  of  directors  against  another — and  no 
mischievous  interferences  witli  the  development  of  the  system.  The 
managers,  free  from  the  apprehension  of  being  saddled,  personally,  with 
all  the  responsibility  and  liability,  would  be  able  to  embark  in  enterprises, 
not  comprehended  in  the  terms  of  the  Act  of  Parliament,  but  essential  to 
the  prosperity  of  their  line.  They  might  undertake  business  which,  under 
the  existing  systems,  the  most  enterprising  directors  would  not  dare  to 
(*bntemplate,  however  lucrative  it  might  be.  The  managers  of  the  line 
would  have  something  more  to  look  to  than  their  position  as  directors. 
They  would  be  free  from  apprehensions  as  to  the  liabilities  they  incurred  ; 
and  whilst  they  would  not  be  turned  from  their  course  of  policy  by  the 
outcry  of  any  discontented  individual  able  to  make  his  voice  heard  through 
any  public  channel,  they  would  give  practical  security  tliat  the  public  in- 
terests would  be  consulted,  because  the  interests  of  the  public  and  those  of 
the  managers  would  be,  in  every  respect,  identical. 

No  doubt  any  system  of  this  sort  must  be  subject  to  restrictions,  both  for 
the  interest  of  the  public  and  the  secm'ity  of  shareholders.  Those  restric- 
tions are,  however,  matters  of  detail  which  it  is  needless  at  present  to  dis- 
cuss. Presuming  that  leases  were  taken  on  good  terms,  and  regarding  the 
saving  usually  accruing  from  individual  as  compai'ed  with  general  manage- 
ment, it  seems  probable  that  an  arrangement  of  this  sort  would  be  valua- 
ble alike  to  owners  and  to  lessees,  a  large  profit  would  accrue  to  those  who 
took  the  line  on  safe  and  well  considered  terms,  and  who  managed  it  with 
enterprise,  vigor  and  economy.  On  the  other  hand,  the  shareholders  would 
derive  great  advantages  from  the  certainty  of  receiving  fixed  dividend.s, 
and  from  the  present  and  prospective  enhancement  of  the  value  of  their 
property. 

Upon  other  points  of  management,  it  is  only  needful  here  to  say,  that  no 
railway  can  be  efiBciently  or  well  conducted  without  thorough  unity  amongst 
the  heads  of  all  the  great  departments.    Upon  the  superintendents  of  ways 


504  RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS. 

and  workf,  of  the  locomotive  department,  of  the  out-door  arrangements, 
and  of  traffic,  devolve  the  most  onerous  and  responsible  duties.  Where 
they  fail  to  act  together,  or  when  any  one  of  them  ceases  to  enjoy  the  full 
confidence  of  the  board,  everything  must  go  wrong.  Having  selected  men 
of  the  best  class,  confiding  in  their  integrity  and  assured  of  their  compe- 
tency, one  of  the  principal  duties  of  a  railvv  ay  direction  is  to  support  its 
officers.  Any  directoral  interference  with  details  must  weaken  their  effi- 
ciency, upon  which  must  mainly  depend  the  ultimate  success  of  the  Com- 
pany they  serve. 

No  paper  on  railway  subjects  could  be  regarded  as  complete  which  did 
not  offer  some  observations  on  the  Electric  Telegraph.  The  telegraph  was, 
doubtless,  an  offspring  of  railways,  and  continues  to  be  their  indispensable 
companion.  The  first  really  practical  application  of  the  telegraph  was  to 
enable  the  stationary  engine  system  on  the  Blackwall  Railway  to  be  worked 
with  certainty  and  disj^atch  ;  but  at  this  moment  there  are  few  lines  of  rail- 
way which  do  not  employ  the  telegraph  for  every  possible  purpose.  The 
total  length  of  telegraph  laid  down  in  Great  Britain  is  now  about  7,200 
miles  ;  and  the  average  number  of  wires  being  five,  there  is  a  total  of 
36,000  miles  of  wire,  weighing  7,200  tons,  and  having  cost  upwards  of 
£200,000.  No  less  than  three  thousand  people  are  constantly  emi)loyed  in 
transmitting  messages  and  maintaining  the  works  ;  and  upwards  of  a  mil- 
lion of  public  messages  flow  annually  along  this  "  silent  highway." 

Great  as  is  the  value  of  the  electric  telegraph  to  the  public,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  it  is  far  greater  to  the  Railway  Companies.  On  the  Eastern 
Counties  Line,  three  years  ago,  the  number  of  messages  transmitted  on  the 
special  business  of  the  Company  was  no  less  than  120,000  in  one  year.  On 
that  portion  of  the  Northwestern  Line  where  the  traffic  is  largely  concen- 
trated, the  progress  of  every  train  is  now  regulated,  throughout  its  whole 
journey,  by  the  operation  of  the  telegraph.  The  system  there  employed  may 
be  thus  described  :  The  line  is  divided  into  convenient  lengths  of  (say) 
from  three  to  five  miles.  At  each  station  there  is  a  telegraph  instrument 
in  connection  with  a  semaphore,  which  gives  two  signals  only.  If  the 
needle  of  the  instrument  inclines  to  the  right,  it  means  that  the  line  is 
clear  ;  if  it  inclines  to  the  left,  it  indicates  that  the  line  is  blocked.  Should 
it  be  observed  that  the  needle  rests  upon  the  card  vertically,  this,  though 
not  a  signal  in  the  ordinary  sense,  is  the  most  important  indication  of  all, 
for  it  shows  that  the  wire  has  been  brokci\,  either  by  some  accident,  which 
may  possibly  affect  the  line  itself,  or  by  some  engine-driver  or  guard.  Whose 
train  has  met  with  a  serious  casualty,  and  whose  first  duty,  in  such  au 
event,  is  to  cut  the  wire. 


RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS.  505 

Now,  the  great  value  of  this  system  is,  that  whenever  the  needle  rests 
vertically,  or  inclines  to  the  left,  the  officers  at  the  stations  are  immediately 
informed  that  something  is  wrong  upon  the  line,  and  that  no  train  must  be 
allowed  to  pass,  until  the  line  is  cleared.  A  collision,  with  such  precau- 
tions, is  all  but  physically  impossible.  And  so  far  ftom  this  arrangement 
operating  to  delay  the  progress  of  a  train,  as  might  be  supposed,  experience 
2)roves  that  the  traffic  of  a  railway  is  immensely  facilitated  by  it. 

The  automatic  working  of  the  telegraph  shows  the  officers  at  every  sta- 
tion, that  for  a  considerable  number  of  miles  in  advance  of  the  station, 
whether  up  or  down,  the  line  of  way  is  clear.  This  knowledge,  imparted 
instantaneously,  and  comprehended  by  a  glance,  enables  the  officers  to  aug- 
ment very  materially  the  traffic  over  the  portion  of  the  line  to  which  their 
duty  may  apply.  The  telegraph,  in  fact,  does  the  work  of  an  additional 
line  of  rails  to  every  Company  that  uses  it,  and  does  it  at  a  cost  perfectly 
infinitesimal  in  comparison  with  the  cost  of  constructing  another  line. 

At  one  period  of  its  history,  the  Northwestern  Railway  appeared  to  be 
so  overcrowded  with  traffic,  that  additional  lines  for  its  relief  were  believed 
to  be  indispensable  ;  but  at  the  very  moment  when  the  demands  upon  the 
system  were  beginning  to  outgi'ow  the  machinery  for  safety,  this  remarka- 
ble invention  came  to  its  relief,  and  the  capacity  of  the  line  for  traffic  has 
consequently  been  immensely  increased.  The  very  first  use  made  of  the 
telegraph  was  to  enable  the  Company  to  meet  the  difficulty  of  a  strike 
among  the  artisans.  During  the  Great  Exhibition  of  ISol,  when  750,000 
passengers  were  conveyed  to  London  by  the  Northwestern  excursion  trains 
alone,  the  whole  of  the  extraordinary  traffic  of  the  line  was  conducted  by 
means  of  the  electric  telegraph.  At  the  present  moment,  the  ordinaiy 
traffic  is  double  what  it  was  when  the  telegraph  was  invented,  and  there 
is  a  greater  capacity  for  increase  than  at  any  period  since  the  line  was 
opened. 

Moreover,  it  must  be  observed  that,  great  as  is  this  saving  to  a  Railway 
Company,  it  is  not  the  only  economy  effected  by  the  use  of  the  electric 
telegi-aph.  On  every  line  where  it  is  thoroughly  employed,  it  effects  a  very 
material  saving  in  the  expensive  element  of  rolling  stock.  The  officers  of 
a  Company  are  enabled,  the  first  thing  every  morning,  to  consider  the  wants 
and  requirements  of  the  day.  They  find  that  on  one  portion  of  their  line 
there  is  likely  to  be  extra  traffic,  whilst  at  some  other  station,  during  the 
previous  day  or  night,  there  has  been  an  accumulation  of  passenger  carria- 
ges or  vans.  By  the  use  of  the  electric  telegraph,  nothing  is  so  easy  as  to 
supply  the  wants  of  one  station  from  the  surplus  stock  at  the  other,  whilst 
the  probabilities  are,  that  without  the  facility  afforded  by  the  telegraph 


506  RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS. 

the  stock  at  one  place  ■nould  have  been  lying  idle,  although  it  was  urgently 
needed  at  another.  Probably  most  lines  would  require  fully  twenty  per 
cent,  more  carriage  stock  than  they  now  possess,  if  it  were  not  i'or  the 
telegraph. 

Whilst  the  value  of  the  electric  telegraph  is  very  little  understood,  the 
means  of  working  it  are,  probably,  still  less  properly  comprehended.  It  is 
generally  supposed,  that  by  some  action  of  a  handle  at  one  station,  the 
electric  current  is  sent  through  a  wire  to  another.  But  the  fact  is,  that 
the  success  which  the  telegraph  has  obtained  has  been  owing  to  the  adop- 
tion of  an  opposite  principle.  Signals  are  now  made,  not  by  sending  a  cur- 
rent through  a  wire,  but  by  the  interception  of  the  current  which  is  contin- 
uously maintained  ;  and  this  application  is  especially  valuable,  not  only  on 
account  of  the  increased  facility,  but  also  on  account  of  the  increased  secu- 
rity afforded.  To  signal,  without  a  current  through  the  M'ire,  requires  a 
machine  in  the  hands  of  a  skilled  pci'son ;  but  to  signal  with  a  constant 
current  through  the  wire,  only  requires  that  the  wire  should  be  broken, 
which  can  be  accomplished  on  any  spot  by  the  most  uninformed.  The  most 
unskillful,  therefore,  in  case  of  accident,  are  fully  able  to  use  the  electric 
telegraph,  so  as  to  give  notice  of  difficulty  or  danger,  and  so  as  to  receive 
immediate  aid  and  assistance  from  the  nearest  stations,  in  both  directions. 
Nor  can  there  be  any  doubt,  in  such  case,  as  to  the  indications  of  the  tele- 
graph. Alarm,  misinterpretation,  or  other  causes,  might  prevent  a  message 
from  traveling  or  lieing  read  correctly,  if  it  were  dependent  upon  the  use 
of  a  machine  and  the  skill  of  both  the  sender  and  the  interpreter ;  but 
where  nothing  more  is  needed  than  to  intercejit  the  flow  of  the  current,  by 
the  rudest  method,  there  can  be  no  doubt  either  as  to  the  operation  or  as 
to  its  effect.  Of  com-se  this  cutting  of  the  wire  applies  solely  to  that  which 
is  called  the  "  train  wire,"  so  that  the  messages  of  the  public  are  in  no  way 
interrupted. 

Recent  projects  gave  promise  of  another,  and  not  an  unimportant  im- 
provement in  the  telegraph.  Great,  it  might  be  supposed,  Mould  be  Uie 
confusion,  if  two  opposite  currents  of  electricity  met  in  one  wire;  but  by 
a  new  adaptation,  it  is  contemplated,  that  messages  shall  pass  in  opposite 
directions  without  the  smallest  interference  with  each  other.  The  means 
employed  are  simply  mechanical.  The  system  would  have  been  some  time 
since  in  operation  in  England,  but  for  the  difficulty  to  be  overcome  from 
the  variableness  of  the  insulation  of  the  wires,  occasioned  by  the  humidity 
af  our  climate.  But  already  several  beautiful  modifications  have  been  de- 
vised, in  order  to  overcome  this  difficulty,  and  there  is  daily  hope  that  the 
improvement  will  be  perfected. 


RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS   RESULTS.  507 

So  much  as  regards  railways.  As  regards  the  public,  the  electric  tele- 
gi-aphs  of  England  have  been  rapidly  growing  in  importance,  although, 
comparatively,  we  are  still  very  backward  in  taking  advantage  of  the  facil- 
ities they  afford.  It  is  only  a  little  more  than  eight  years  since  the  tele- 
graph was  first  worked  in  this  country.  During  the  fu'st  quarter  of  1848,  the 
receipts  of  the  Electric  Telegraph  Company  wore  only  £1G0 ;  in  the  second 
quarter  they  increased  to  £240 ;  in  the  third  to  £320  ;  in  the  fourth  to  £400  ; 
and  the  receipts,  despite  the  fact  that  other  companies  have  grown  up,  and 
that  the  charges  are  now  only  one  third  of  the  amount  originally  demanded, 
have  now  reached  £3,000  per  week  !  The  growth  has  thus  been  fifty  fold 
in  seven  years ;  a  progress  unexampled  in  commercial  annals,  except  in 
association  with  railway  intercourse. 

One  of  the  original  grounds  of  opposition  to  railways  was  the  dangerous 
character  of  the  traffic.  A  writer  in  one  of  our  most  popular  reviews  thus 
expressed,  some  years  ago,  the  common  opinion  upon  the  danger  of  railway 
traveling  : 

*'  It  is  certainly  some  consolation  to  those  who  are  to  be  whirled  at  the 
rate  of  eighteen  or  twenty  miles  an  hour,  by  means  of  a  high-pressure  en- 
gine, to  be  told  that  there  is  no  danger  of  being  sea-sick  while  on  shore  ; 
that  they  are  not  to  be  scalded  to  death,  nor  drowned,,  nor  dashed  to  pieces 
by  the  bursting  of  a  boiler  ;  and  that  they  need  not  mind  being  struck  by 
the  scattered  fragments,  or  dashed  in  pieces  by  the  flying  off  or  breaking 
of  a  wheel.  But,  with  all  these  assui'ances,  we  should  as  soon  expect  the 
people  of  Woolwich  to  suffer  themselves  to  be  fired  off  upon  one  of  Con- 
greve's  ricochet  rockets  as  to  trust  themselves  to  the  mercy  of  such  a  ma- 
chine, going  at  such  a  rate." 

It  is  curious,  occasionally,  to  contrast  prediction  and  event.  The  last 
return  of  the  Government  Railway  Department  shows  that  the  number  of 
passengers  killed,  in  proportion  to  the  number  conveyed  upon  railways  in 
the  United  Kingdom,  was,  for  the  first  half  year  of  1854,  one  in  7,195,343  ! 
Can  it  be  assumed — would  any  life  insurance  company  in  the  world  assume 
— that  to  English  gentlemen  and  ladies  sitting  at  home  at  their  ease  by 
their  firesides,  fatal  accidents  would  only  occur,  during  half  a  year,  in  the 
proportion  of  one  in  seven  millions  ?  In  the  active  performance  of  the 
duties  of  life,  it  is  impossible  to  find  a  case  in  which  the  proportion  of  fatal 
accidents  is  so  small.  But  nevertheless,  whenever  an  accident  does  occur 
upon  a  railway,  the  public  are  sure  to  find  it  regarded  as  "  Another  Fatal 
Railway  Accident,"  just  as  if  such  accidents  were  constant,  instead  of  being, 
as  the  government  statistics  prove,  most  rare  and  extraordinary. 

In  comparison  with  deaths  by  railway  accidents,  how  many  are  the  acci- 


508  RAILWAY    SYSTEM   AND    ITS    RESULTS. 

dents  to  persons  walking  in  the  streets  !  How  fearful  are  the  misadven- 
tures met  with  by  those  "  who  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships  !  "'■  Yet  Parlia- 
ment saw  fit  to  provide,  specially,  for  the  smallest  class  of  accidents  arising 
from  locomotion,  and  to  afford  only  scanty  redi-ess  for  the  greatest.  Such 
has  been  the  character  of  legislation  for  railways.  The  Merchant  Shipping 
Law  Consolidation  Act,  1854,  (17  and  18  Vict.,  c.  104,)  recognizes  in  some 
sort  the  liability  of  shipowners  in  cases  of  loss  of  life,  or  of  personal  dam- 
age to  passengers.  But  this  act  only  exemplifies  still  more  strongly  the 
partial  character  of  legislation  as  against  the  Railway  Companies.  For, 
whilst  the  damages  in  the  case  of  accident  upon  a  railway  are  unlimited, 
this  act  expressly  limits  the  amount,  which  can  be  recovered  under  its  ope- 
ration, to  £30  per  head.  Still  further,  if  a  crowded  emigrant  ship  should 
be  wrecked,  and  all  the  lives  on  board  lost,  the  liability  of  the  shipowner 
would  be  limited  to  the  value  of  the  ship  and  the  amount  due  or  accruing 
to  him  on  account  of  freight  in  the  voyage  during  which  the  accident 
occurred,  so  that,  practically,  the  deodand  amounts  to  nothing  more  than  a 
first  chai'ge  upon  the  insurance  effected  by  the  shipowner  upon  the  ship  and 
cargo.  A  shipowner  might  thus  send  his  vessel  to  sea,  her  condition  unsea- 
worthy,  her  compasses  ill-adjusted,  inefBciently  commanded,  and  with  a 
disorderly  or  incapable  crew.  The  ship  might  be  wrecked  the  same  night, 
or  be  ran  down,  for  want  of  proper  vigilance,  by  some  steamer  in  the  chan- 
nel. In  such  cases  there  would  be  only  very  partial  redress  against  the 
shipowner,  whatever  might  be  his  culpability.  But  let  a  railway  carriage 
be  thrown  off  a  line  in  a  dark  night  by  a  stone,  or  a  log  of  wood  carelessly 
or  willfully  plnced  upon  it— let  a  fatal  accident  occur  in  consequence  of 
some  wanton  act,  not  of  the  Railway  Company,  but  of  all  that  public  who 
ought  to  guard  and  protect  one  another  — and  the  Railway  Company, 
although  suffering  severe  loss  of  property,  without  having  any  pecuniary 
redress,  even  on  the  legal  conviction  of  the  perpetrator  of  the  deed,  which 
may  have  been  prompted  either  by  a  diabolical  desire  to  wreak  a  petty  ven- 
geance, or  for  the  gratification  of  a  malicious  disposition,  is  liable  to  be 
mulcted  in  the  heaviest  penalties,  for  the  accidental  loss  of  life  the  misfor- 
tune may  occasion.  Can  it  be  said  that  this  is  equitable  legislation,  or  that 
it  is  calculated  to  protect  the  public  from  the  class  of  accidents  against 
which  protection  is  most  required  ? 

Lord  Campbell's  Act  not  only  creates  a  new  and  ill-adjusted  liability, 
but  it  is  also  an  exceedingly  unfair  act,  in  its  application  to  different 
classes  of  society.  The  value  of  life  is  measured  under  this  act  by  a  class 
standard.  A  high  public  functionary  may  take  a  ticket  for  a  journey  of 
six  miles  at  the  cost  of  one  shilling.    In  the  same  train  there  may  be  a 


RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS.  509 

•\vorking-man,  who  intends  to  travel  one  hundred  miles,  and  who  has  paid 
ten  shillings.  The  train  meets  with  an  accident,  and  both  are  killed.  It  is 
shown  that,  being  a  rich  man,  in  the  enjoyment  of  high  posts,  honors,  and 
emoluments,  his  life  was  worth  £20,000  to  his  family.  The  jury  give  the 
full  amount  claimed.  But  what  do  the  family  of  the  poor  man  get  ?  The 
widow,  not  being  able  to  establish  any  pecuniary  loss,  by  reason  of  the 
accident  which  befel  her  husband,  has  charitably  awarded  to  her,  by  the 
jury,  £10,  as  a  matter  of  feeling  ;  and  the  attorney  probably  applies  that 
amount  to  the  payment  of  his  costs.  As  regards  the  railway,  therefore, 
this  law  is  unequal ;  and  it  is  still  more  so  as  regards  the  public. 

The  practical  effect  of  this  law  is  to  retard  the  full  adoption  of  low  fares 
on  railways.  The  Railway  Companies,  driven  to  become  insurers  of  the 
lives  of  the  public  traveling  on  their  lines,  obviously  must,  in  one  form  or 
another,  have  premiums  to  meet  compensation.  Hence,  proposals  to  reduce 
fares  to  their  minimum  are  constantly  met  by  the  consideration  that  the 
larger  the  number  of  passengers,  the  greater  the  liability  to  accident,  and 
to  the  pecuniary  loss  incidental  to  it.  It  is,  indeed,  fortunate  for  the 
public  that  the  proportion  of  accidents  is  so  small.  If  the  proportion  was 
large,  fares  must  no  doubt  be  raised.  And  let  it  be  observed  that  the  Com- 
panies, thus  driven  to  insure  their  passengers,  are  obliged  to  do  so  apart 
from  all  proper  apportionment  of  premium  to  the  risk  incurred.  A  man 
traveling  one  hundred  miles  obviously  incurs  more  risk  than  a  man  travel- 
ing six  miles ;  yet,  as  we  have  seen,  the  family  of  the  latter  may  get 
enormous  compensation  from  the  Company,  whilst  that  of  the  former  gets 
nothing.  Nothing  can  be  less  equitable,  or  more  opposed  to  every  sound 
commercial  principle.  If  Railway  Companies  are  to  be  taxed  in  this  way 
at  all,  the  proper  course  would  be,  that  each  passenger  should  declare  the 
value  of  his  life,  when  he  takes  his  ticket,  and  be  charged  in  proportion  to 
the  distance  he  is  traveling.  But  no  consideration  can  be  expected  from 
those  who  have  thought  themselves  justified  in  applying  special  legislation 
to  a  case  in  which  that  law  applies  only  m  the  proportion  of  I  to  every 
7,195,343! 

Having  now  directed  attention  to  the  principal  and  more  important 
topics  of  this  great  subject,  it  is  desirable,  before  bringing  this  address  to  a 
clise,  to  endeavor  to  lay  before  you  some  of  the  general  results  of  the 
system. 

You  have  heard  that  there  are  more  than  90,000  men  directly  employed 
by  the  railways  of  the  United  Kingdom.  Collaterally,  in  the  manufacture 
of  iron,  the  felling  and  transport  of  timber,  the  production  of  stores,  the 
erection  and  improvement  of  buildings,  etc.,  these  lines  give  employment 


510  RAILWAY   SYSTEM   AND   ITS   RESULTS. 

to  at  least  50,000  more  men.  Now,  140,000  men  represent,  with  their 
wives  and  children,  a  population  of  more  than  half  a  million  of  souls.  The 
result  therefore  is,  that  no  less  than  1  in  50,  of  the  total  population  of  these 
realms,  is  directly  dependent  on  its  railways !  Having  regard  to  this  most 
startling  fact,  you  will  not  be  disposed  to  think  that  this  is  an  interest 
which  should  be  neglected,  or  be  harshly  treated  by  the  legislature,  or 
which  should  be  the  subject  of  imperfect  and  unsatisfactory  legislation. 

The  financial  results  of  railways  will  occasion  no  less  surprise,  when  they 
are  considered.  In  the  gross,  £20,000,000  of  revenue  are  now  realized 
annually  by  the  Railway  Companies  of  the  United  Kingdom — an  amount 
nearly  equal  to  one  half  the  ordinary  revenue  of  the  state.  Now,  consider 
how  the  national  wealth  is  affected  by  this  large  amount  received  from  the 
people  by  the  Railway  Companies.  Suppose  that  to-morrow  there  was  a 
stoppage  of  all  the  railways — a  cessation  of  the  existing  railway  means  of 
transporting  human  beings,  merchandise,  and  animals.  In  the  first  place, 
it  is  certain  that  the  traffic,  represented  by  £20,000,000,  could  not  be  ac- 
commodated at  all.  But  assume  that  it  could  be,  it  is  certain  that  the 
accommodation  could  only  be  ofl'ered  at  more  than  three  times  the  charge 
now  made  by  the  railways.  The  result  then  is,  that  upon  the  existing 
traffic  of  the  nation,  railways  are  effecting  a  direct  saving  to  the  people  of 
not  less  than  £40,000,000  per  annum  ;  and  that  sum  exceeds  by  about  50 
per  cent,  the  entire  interest  of  our  National  Debt.  It  may  be  said,  there- 
fore, that  the  railway  system  neutralizes  to  the  people  the  bad  eff'ects  of  the 
debt  with  which  the  state  is  encumbered.  It  places  us  in  as  good  a  position 
as  if  the  debt  did  not  exist.  And  here  the  doubt  arises  as  to  which  would 
be  the  most  advantageous  condition — a  nation  without  a  national  debt  and 
also  without  a  railway  system  ;  or  a  nation  hampered  by  a  national  debt, 
but  having  the  advantage  of  cheap  internal  intercourse  by  railway. 

Again,  "  Time  is  money."  At  least  111,000,000  passengers  travel  every 
year  by  our  railways  an  average  of  12  miles  each.  They  perform  the  jour- 
ney in  half  an  hour.  At  the  average  rate  of  speed  of  the  stage-coach,  a 
journey  of  12  miles  would  have  occupied  an  hour  and  a  half.  Here  is  a 
direct  saving  of  one  hour  upon  every  average  journey  performed  by  111,- 
000,000  of  persons  annually.  These  111,000,000  hours  saved  are  equal  to 
14,000,000  days,  or  38,000  years,  supposing  the  working  man  to  labor  eight 
hours  a  day  ;  and  allowing  at  the  rate  of  3s.  a  day  for  his  labor,  the  annual 
saving  to  the  nation,  on  this  low  average  scale,  is  not  less  than  £2,000,000 
per  annum. 

Regard  some  of  the  moral  results  of  the  railway  system.  Observe  how 
it  operates  in  equalizing  the  value  of  land.    Railways  enable  the  farmer 


RAILWAY    SYSTEM    AND    ITS    RESULTS.  511 

in  Scotland  to  send  his  beasts  to  Smithfield,  and  gardeners  in  the  west  of 
England  to  send  their  early  fruits  to  Covent  Garden.  Distant  properties, 
therefore,  become  as  valuable  as  those  ncai'cr  to  the  centers  of  consumption. 
Xor  is  this  all.  Railways,  by  facilitating  the  transit  of  artiflcial  manures, 
enable  the  farmers  of  poor  land  to  compete  with  those  who  till  superior 
soils ;  thus  tending  still  further  to  equalize  the  value  of  the  land,  and 
thereby  giving  increased  employment  to,  and  improving  the  condition  of, 
all  classes  of  the  population. 

People  are  too  apt  to  think  and  talk  of  railways  as  mere  machines, 
whereby  the  speed  of  conveyance  from  one  point  to  another  is  increased. 
You  have  seen  them  to-night  in  other  and  more  important  points  of  view. 
Let  us  look  at  them  in  other  phases. 

As  stimulating  national  industry,  perhaps  the  most  familiar  illustration 
will  be  the  hard-metal  trade.  Look  at  the  boiler-plate  manufacture — com- 
paratively insignificant  before  iron  vessels  and  steam  locomotion  came  into 
existence,  and  now  one  of  the  most  important  elements  of  the  trade  to  which 
it  appertains.  Such  is  the  extent  of  this  branch  of  manufacture,  that, 
extensive  as  they  are,  the  iron-woi'ks  are  not  even  yet  able  to  render 
the  supply  equal  to  the  demand. 

Again,  before  railways  existed,  the  inland  counties  of  England  were 
unsupplied  with  fish  from  the  coast.  Now,  fresh  sea-fish  enters  into  the 
consumption  of  almost  every  family  of  the  middle  class,  in  every  consider- 
able town.  In  the  fish  trade,  indeed,  railways  have  caused  and  are  causing 
a  prodigious  revolution.  Large  fishing  establishments  have  been  formed  at 
difierent  parts  of  the  east  coast.  Before  the  Norfolk  Railway  was  con- 
structed, the  conveyance  of  fish  from  Y'armouth  to  London  was  entirely 
conducted  in  light  vans  with  post-horses,  and  was  represented  by  a  bulk 
of  aJjout  2,000  tons  a  year.  At  present  2,000  tons  of  fish  are,  not  unfre- 
qucntly,  carried  on  the  Norfolk  Railway,  not  in  a  year,  but  in  a  fortnight. 

But  perhaps  there  is  no  respect  in  which  railways  contribute  so  greatly 
to  the  public  advantage  as  in  the  inland  coal  traffic  ;  still  in  its  infancy, 
but  becoming  most  rapidly  developed.  The  wagons  which  caiTy  chalk 
from  one  county,  return  home  laden  with  coals  from  another.  Large 
reductions  are  being  etfectcd  in  the  price  of  this  prime  necessary  of  life. 
Districts  in  which  the  peasantry,  only  a  few  years  since,  made  their  fires 
with  a  few  scanty  sticks  gathered  fi'om  a  hedge,  are  now  abundantly  and 
cheaply  supplied  with  the  fuel  which  is  so  important  to  comfort  and  civili- 
zation. Railways  have  been  already  presented  to  you  as  public  educators ; 
here  you  have  them  as  agents  of  benevolence  and  ameliorators  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  human  race  ;  for  it  may  be  safely  said  that  there  is  no  contri- 


512  RAILWAY   SYSTEM    AND   ITS   RESULTS. 

bution  to  the  social  comfort  of  society  equal  to  warmth.  Comfort,  indeed, 
implies  warmth  ;  and  warmth,  chemically  considered,  is  an  addition  to  the 
supply  of  food. 

Before  railways  were  brought  into  existence,  the  internal  communication 
of  this  country  was  restricted  by  its  physical  circumstances.  Canals, 
apparently,  allow  an  infinite  series  of  boats  to  pass  along  them ;  but  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  Nature  opposes  a  practical  limit  to  that 
description  of  transit.  Every  canal-boat  has  to  pass  a  summit  more  or  less 
abundantly  supplied  with  water.  Without  a  steam-engine  at  every  lock, 
the  extent  of  the  trafSc  by  this  inland  navigation  must,  therefore,  be  de- 
pendent upon  the  supply  of  water  which  can  be  commanded  at  the  summits 
to  be  traversed.  But,  more  than  tliis,  all  canals  are  subject  to  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  dry  seasons,  which  may  occur  at  periods  when  the  traffic  is  at  a 
maximum,  and  to  the  frost  of  severe  seasons,  during  which  Nature  may 
compel  a  total  cessation  of  traffic  for  several  weeks.  In  comparison  with 
these  difficulties,  railway  communication  has  none  ;  and  hitherto,  whatever 
barriers  Nature  has  opposed.  Science  has  entirely  surmounted. 

Before  concluding  this  addi'ess,  I  am  desirous  of  adding  a  few  words  by 
way  of  practical  application  of  the  great  subject  we  have  been  considering. 

I  have  directed  attention  to  our  railway  system  as  it  is.  I  have  endeav- 
ored to  show  you  the  importance  of  that  system,  as  regards  the  works  which 
have  been  executed,  the  capital  invested,  and  the  multitudes  to  whom  it 
gives  employment.  I  have  endeavored  to  point  out  some  of  the  defects  of 
the  system,  and  to  indicate  the  causes  from  which  those  defects  arise.  I 
have  shown  you  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  the  results  attained,  and 
that  the  system  under  which  they  have  been  achieved  must  inevitably  be 
progressive.  There  is,  however,  a  great  duty  still  unperformed,  which 
devolves  less  upon  myself  than  upon  you.  It  should  be  one  of  the  most 
earnest  efforts  of  civil  engineers  to  improve  and  perfect  this  vast  and  com- 
prehensive system. 

It  is  not  merely  upon  woi"ks  of  magnitude  that  your  attention  should  be 
fixed ;  the  railway  system  is  so  vast,  that  every  item,  however  minute  in 
itself,  becomes  of  the  greatest  importance,  when  multiplied  by  the  extent 
of  work  performed.  You  must  consider  that  every  farthing  saved  upon 
the  train  mileage  of  our  country  represents  to  the  railways  no  less  an  ag- 
gregate than  £80,000  per  annum.  This  fact  may  help  to  realize  to  you  how 
important  it  is  that  your  attention  should  be  directed  carefully  to  every 
department  of  the  railway  system.  The  perfection  of  the  permanent  way, 
its  maintenance  in  sound  condition,  the  durability  of  materials  of  construc- 
tion, the  simplification  and  improvement  of  locomotives,  the  economy  of 


KAIL  WAY   SYSTEM    AND   ITS   RESULTS.  513 

fuel — even  the  consumption  of  grease  and  cotton  waste — all  these  are  items 
in  which  economical  an-angements  may  be  turned  to  the  highest  advantage. 

There  are  other  points  which  will,  doubtless,  suggest  themselves  to  many 
who  are  present ;  and  I  can  only  say,  for  my  own  part,  that  nothing  will 
afford  me  higher  satisfaction,  than  to  feel  that  any  observations  I  have 
addressed  to  you  may  elicit  practical  suggestions  for  the  improvement  of 
the  system  with  which  my  name,  chiefly  in  consequence  of  my  father's 
works,  is  so  intimately  associated.  For  it  is  my  gi-eat  pride  to  remember, 
that  whatever  may  have  been  done,  and  however  extensive  may  have  been 
my  own  connection  with  railway  development,  all  I  know  and  all  I  have 
done  is  primarily  due  to  the  parent  whose  memoiy  I  cherish  and  revere. 

When  I  consider  how  intimately  associated  is  the  railway  system  with 
the  profession  to  which  I  have  the  honor  to  belong  —  when  I  reflect,  not 
only  how  much  that  system  owes  to  the  profession,  but  also  how  much  the 
profession  owes  to  railways,  I  cannot  doubt  that  the  civil  engineers  of  Eng- 
land will  fulfill  their  duty.  For,  looking  around  to-night,  who  can  doubt 
that,  whilst  railways  owe  their  construction  to  civil  engineers,  they,  in 
return,  owe  to  railways  a  large  proportion  of  that  improved  position,  that 
increased  intelligence,  and  that  familiar  knowledge  of  abstract  science, 
which,  within  the  last  twenty  years,  has  so  largely  developed  itself,  both 
within  and  without  these  walls?  Our  business  from  a  craft,  has  become  a 
profession  ;  and  that  profession,  I  rejoice  to  say,  is  daily  exhibiting  itself, 
not  only  as  one  of  increased  importance,  but  also  as  one  of  increasing  cor- 
diality and  cooperation.  There  was  a  time,  amid  the  many  exciting 
competitions  occasioned  by  railway  enterprise,  when  the  spirit  of  rivalry 
amongst  the  civil  engineers  of  England  was  carried  so  far  as  to  occasion 
some  feelings  of  estrangement.  I  am  happy  to  tliink  that  those  feelings 
have  given  way  to  more  friendly  and  confidential  relations  amongst  us  all ; 
that  our  intercourse  is  now  characterized  by  mutual  forbearance  and  con- 
ciliation ;  and  that,  if  rivalry  does  exist,  it  is  no  longer  entertained  in  an 
unbecoming  spirit,  but  is  an  honorable  competition  in  the  path  of  enter- 
prise, and  for  the  fair  rewards  of  successful  skill.  To  this  Institution,  and 
to  the  opportunities  afforded  by  these  meetings,  we  are  mainly  indebted  for 
this  improved  spirit. 

33 

THE    END. 


4 


